Naruto: From Darkness
by Draco Kamikaze
Summary: From the depths of darkness, the Jedi will receive a rude awakening that nothing is set, and that sometimes just one person can change the course of history for the galaxy. Naruto/Star Wars
1. Chapter 1

AN: Alright, hello everyone, and welcome to a new story. I've been dealing with life and whatnot and I recalled my love of Fanfiction and after doing some looking around, I realized that Jedi Master Naruto and Out of the Unknown had updated, and Naruto of the Force had disappeared. As some of my favorite Naruto/Star Wars stories, it reminded me that at some point I'd written this story as well as jotted down my notes after reading Naruto of the Force and wanted to do something similar, though with my own take and twists.

So, I suppose "in honor" of that story being MIA for me, here's the first chapter of that story. I hope you like it.

* * *

><p>Star date: 45 BBY (Before Battle Yavin)<p>

Naruto's Age: 4

* * *

><p><em>A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…<em>

…_or perhaps, closer than truly imagined…_

Much could be said about a Jedi who'd been nicknamed "the Dark Woman". Thoroughly resourceful, cunning, and devoted to the will of the Force, it was said she'd even given up her name – An'ya Kuro – in order to remove herself completely of attachments in her search to become closer to the force. She was a powerful Jedi Master, a woman of wisdom from many prior experiences, a trainer of difficult and troubled youths, and one of the few who was able to find children of Force sensitivity where others would not – or could not - have seen.

A woman in her later middle years, she had dark hair, with faint streaks of what would one day be grey/white hair. She stood tall though, and those who'd engaged her in saber combat knew all too well her prowess in the art, as well as her strengths in them. Those who'd further met her and seen her usage of the Force would also know that the true depths of her abilities lay in her connection to the Force.

It was here that she flew, undauntedly trusting in the Force, towards the gapping abyss that was the black hole cluster known as the Maw. She'd been completing a mission nearby when the Force suddenly whispered intently to her, in a voice almost sounding flustered, or maybe concerned; whichever tone it was didn't concern her, so much as the message it bore. Why it led her into a place known to be a death trap to all who was unaware of the danger, or perhaps even missed it due to its nature as a black hole, she did not yet worry about.

This was the Will of the Force. If it deemed her to go here, she would go.

Stretching out her senses, she felt herself mildly surprised when she felt the Force illuminating a trail that led even further into the Maw. Following this trail, which felt strangely foreign in this cluster of darkness, she kept herself at a slow and even pace to avoid mishaps. In a place such as this, one mistake was truly death. Yet onwards she flew.

Pressing a few buttons on her console, she hummed softly as the only light she now had was from the console before her. At the moment, it was silent, but worked all the same in relaying the information without the starcraft. Nothing at all.

Closing her eyes, she allowed the Force to illuminate what her starcraft could not see. Within seconds upon reaching out to feel the Force, she saw a star system, wrapped up in a cradle of the black holes with which one shone with an anomaly of the Force. Curious, she kept her eyes closed and sank deeper into the Force for confirmation.

The further she seeped herself in the Force, the closer she felt to the planet. Yet in that same moment, she sighed at the feeling of the dark side that echoed across the surface of the planet. Still, the Force was here, but it had also called her here for a specific purpose.

Why?

Opening her eyes, and for the first time seeing the planet, she sped her vessel up just a bit and made her way towards the planet. Whatever it was that awaited her, she would find out soon enough.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of her craft, she silently used the Force to coax the foliage around her to wrap around her vessel to conceal it. From just a quick fly over, she'd realized that the world was primitive, and secluded. Somewhat nostalgically, it reminded her of when she'd found Ki-Adi-Mundi on his homeworld; though in his world's case, they had actively decided not to take the technological advances that otherworlders had offered from time to time.<p>

Leaving all but what the Force told her was necessary – her regular tunic, and a few supplies – she slowly made her way into the village nearby. The Force seemed to resonate most powerfully from a surprisingly wide amount of areas, but the one that the Force drew her towards was here in this forest. Landing on top of the mountain, which had four people's heads carved into it, she couldn't help but laugh softly at the image as she walked down the mountain.

"I've seen the arrogance of many beings, but even this is still rather surprising. I wonder how long it took for these people to carve out the faces of these people." She idly muttered, glancing into the village as the corners of her mouth turned downwards in a frown. The Force was indeed strong here, but it was also crawling with a feeling not unlike the Dark Side of the Force. Warily, she continued on her way down the mountain.

The village was small in her eyes, made of finite materials that she knew could quite easily waste away with time. The tallest building was towards the back of the village, with a symbol on it resembling a line drawn straight down before curving in to separate directions, and two marks near the top on either side. While the Force had told her this planet had held no connection to the outside world in millennia, her mind faltered for a moment as she tried to see if she recognized it at all. Drawing a blank, she shook her head and let her inspection continue.

The people all seemed to be talking cheerfully, their rendition of what was likely a bazaar was quite condensed in this area, and seemed to contain one revolving idea; war. Despite the cheerful talk, she found herself eyeing the weapons and other miscellaneous items that they sold with regret. Furthermore, many of the people around her who seemed to be eyeing the materials more intimately were wearing green flak jackets and wore some sort of metal plate attached to a sash or bandana with an insignia. No criminal or galactic area had a symbol like that to her knowledge, indicating that it was likely the normal officers of the world.

It also meant that the world was militarized.

This troubled Kuro slightly. The feeling of the Force was seeped into the world, with the very walls of it almost seeming alive to her at points. But whenever she would hesitantly reach out to feel the Force of another being, she found them off, drawing something in but having no connection to the Force. Many children ran past her, but she paid most no mind. Their parents watched over them, and in this world it was likely that they were waiting for the day when they would enroll the children in some form of academy to become like those in the flak jackets.

Above her, several men leapt across rooftops, causing her to duck into an alley. A patrol of some sort? Or simply more of these people going about their daily life? Curiouser and curiouser, she eventually emerged and continued on her way.

Hearing a noise down the street to her right, she glanced over and frowned as she saw a small group of children picking on another young child; a blond in a white shirt who was clearly struggling against his oppressors. For a second she considered helping, but quickly realized that if she could see him, that others could as well. So where were they? Staying back instead, she observed the world around her from the safety of the shadows.

The boys where clearly several years older, the oldest perhaps eleven or twelve, and had looks of anger that no child should have. There were indeed several adults who were glancing at the mayhem going on, but rather than taking care of it, stepping in, or doing something productive, they turned their backs and moved on. I seemed almost a trained response, but not one that was conditioned. This clearly wasn't something that happened all the time, but it was clear that there was something that the boy had done which earned enough ire that they would ignore him in a time of need.

It was rather disgusting to her.

Doing something to hurt someone was one thing, but ignoring another when you could help was another thing altogether. She'd had moments where the Force had told her to stay back, such as now, and in each time it had served its purpose. This time, in a place she knew nothing about, she'd seen the silent brutality of the world she was in. Shuddering silently, she watched as the blond child ran off.

"…poor child." She whispered, wondering how well he'd recover. Hearing others speaking about him, she silently listened in.

It didn't take long for her frown to deepen, whispers of 'that child' and hushing voices soon after made her quite worried. Deciding she'd heard enough, and not wishing to deal further with those around her, she began seeking for a place of rest.

Judging from the time, and from the time she'd spent navigating the Maw, and exploring the village, she found herself rightfully exhausted. Already knowing that they wouldn't accept credits, as they were too "far" from the Republic to even know what they were, some other form of payment would be necessary if she wanted to find a place of lodging. Had she thought of this earlier, she might have brought something inconspicuous to trade, and possibly gain some currency for at least one night's stay.

Following the promptings of the Force, she moved to an alley, and sat herself down, resting herself against the wall. Though an odd choice, the Force knew what she did not, and so she slept.

And waited.

* * *

><p>"Um, ol' lady? Ol' lady are you dead?"<p>

Not for the first time, it was the soft voice of a young child roused her from slumber. Surprisingly soft, but then, if she had been dead the poor child might've felt very strange trying to talk with a corpse. Steadying herself, she slowly opened her eyes and glanced down at the young one who had awakened her.

"Oh good! You're alive." The young boy's face – the face of the boy she'd seen the day before – shifted from one of worry to an oversized grin as he gripped the back of his head. The smile morphed his face rather unusually, causing his eyes to scrunch up till he was all but squinting, and pulling the three line-like marks on his cheeks taunt and give just the barest hint of a vulpine look to him. "It would have been really weird if you were dead. You looked too good to be a dead person."

"Oh really? And what if I had been dead then?" An'ya asked curiously.

The boy's eyes widened in confusion and flailed a bit. "Then-then you wouldn't have talked to me and I would have looked for help …or something. I don't know?" He shuffled in place and stared at the ground sheepishly. "I didn't think about that…"

An'ya smirked at the boy's awkwardness, kneeling in front of him. "Well, you had a good intentions, so the heart is there. Tell me boy, what's your name?"

"Ah! It's Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said, the bright grin returning full force. Humming softly, he seemed to be thinking about something. "Um, ol' lady – "

"An'ya Kuro."

"Oh! An'ya-san, why were you in the alley? Aren't there more comfortable places to sleep?"

An'ya considered his question silently, gently tapping her chin as she slowly answered his question. "I suppose, but then I knew that if I slept here, I would find something of importance."

"Well, you met me because I found you, so…" Naruto started, but then turned around and seemed far more worried than he had a second ago. "Um, never mind."

"But what you said is true. You found me, so clearly there's something important about me meeting you." An'ya said, the Force drawing her attention to the body as though it were highlighting him as her objective. For whatever reason, the Force was guiding her to him, but for what purpose, she did not know. "Maybe you know something about this village I need to know?"

Naruto scrunched up his face, thinking about what he knew. "Um…uh, oh! I know about Ichiraku! It's the best ramen ever in the world! Come on! I'll show you!"

He reached out and grabbed her hand, dragging her in the direction of this 'Ichiraku' place. An'ya followed, biting her lip as she let him lead her. She'd had instances where the Force spoke to her upon touching something without her intending to, but this was one of the few times where the Force spoke through to her through the person. And what it said for Naruto was a bit worrying.

* * *

><p>Ichiraku was a quiet little place, not far from what Naruto had pointed out as the Academy which had loomed off to the side during their journey. Naruto rambled on about how all the other kids were going to be going into the academy in the coming years, and how they all seemed to be forming into groups already. When she'd asked about whether his parents would enter him into the Academy as well, he'd almost angrily informed her that he didn't have any parents.<p>

Not one to simply allow him to speak to her in a tone like that, she sternly asked why he'd spoken so angrily at her. Dropping his head shamefully, he apologized, having seen the other kids with their parents and felt that he would never get to experience that. That and apparently he felt that people looked at him funny, and it made him angry to think that they were mad about something he hadn't done.

"…except Ichiraku! They're super awesome, and they sometimes let me have some free ramen!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to the stand and tugged her in. "Oi oi! Ayame-chan! Old Man!"

"Ah, Naruto-kun!" A young girl exclaimed, poking her head out from the back. "Dad, Naruto's here!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard him. Me and half the neighborhood." An old man said as he stepped out and glanced over to Naruto and his guest. "Oh? And who's your friend Naruto? I haven't seen her in the village before."

"My name is An'ya Kuro, and I'm from a very far way away." An'ya replied, bowing to the two of them. "I apologize if we awoke you, I hadn't realized that this was also your home."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, peaking over the counter. Blinking, he turned to An'ya as he pointed to the back. "Are you saying that they live in Ichiraku? That's…so awesome! You guy's _live _with ramen around you? That's so cool!"

Ayame giggled at his antics, while her father rolled her eyes at Naruto's exclamation. "Alright, calm down Naruto. What can I get you?"

"One big chicken ramen please!" Naruto shouted as he sat relatively still, though he squirmed around eagerly.

"And you miss?"

An'ya glanced at Ayame, suddenly feeling out of place by her question. "Um, no thank you. I don't wish to impose –"

"First one'll be on the house." Ayame's father said, grabbing a second bowl for her as he motioned to the broth he was cooking up. "So, what'll it be?"

"…" An'ya glanced up, and quickly realized she had no idea what most of these were. Uncertain of what to say, she glanced to Naruto and decided to trust his choice for the time being. "I'll have a…chicken as well."

"Alrighty then, two chicken ramen's coming right up. Have a seat, and enjoy yourselves."

An'ya nodded, patiently sitting on the stool next to Naruto as she silently meditated. Although she'd heard what the Force had told her, she felt she needed just another little bit to confirm her feelings about the world. Reaching out with her senses, she decided to use Ayame as a sort of example to see if she was correct about her assumption; the assumption being that there was something about this world.

Although it was a bit hazy to feel fully, the Force was truly seeped into the world around her. On occasion this meant that the inhabitants were usually Force users or Force sensitive, however she had yet to truly feel the Force yet from any of the inhabitants. Upon touching the Force to Ayame, she felt it flow with her ever so slightly, but not enough to be a Force sensitive. Using the same sense on Naruto, the feeling increased by quite a bit, and for a moment actually seemed to stretch back towards her; seeking the familiar touch of the Force.

Almost as soon as this happened, she felt a disturbance in the Force, not unlike when someone tapped into the dark side. Glancing around behind her, her eyes locked onto a particular rooftop a ways away from them. The feeling had stopped for a second, which made her scowl softly at her mistake. Someone had likely felt her using the Force, and would soon send more. Her time here was likely going to be much more limited, which meant she was likely going to have to hurry with speaking to the boy.

Keeping herself calm, she acted natural, letting the boy do the most part of the talking. Despite herself, she found herself drawn into quite a few of his tall tales; tales of him flying over the Elemental Nations, swimming in a tub of ramen, and gaining the respect of everyone in the village. An'ya could tell that convincing him to come with her wouldn't be super difficult, though she silently considered the repercussions of what she was going to be asking.

She'd seen children drawn from their homelands, from Jedi duty to military duty alight. In some cases she'd seen parents who would lash out and the thought concerned her. This was far more than just parents who would be angry and lashing out; it would likely be the military.

Each soldier in their little planetary dispute likely seemed worth it to them, even those who were just the fodder-type of soldier, which Naruto likely would be seen as. Those without parents were expendable, and the thought of someone thinking that there was someone who was expendable when all things served their purpose in the Force. What that purpose was, even in death, only the Force knew. No one should simply take a life without that consideration.

The food before her seemed to vanish all too fast, and soon the two of them were walking away. The sun was peaking above the mountains in the distance, gently touching the top of the mountains heads as it slowly made its way down the cliff face – and the four others as well.

Walking with Naruto slowly, she considered her options. While there was always the option of simply guiding him out of the village without him fully realizing, she knew that was _not_ what would benefit her. Another one was to take him somewhere he could see her use the Force and decide then, which was good but would also reveal herself to whomever had been acting earlier. The final option though, left it all up to chance, but was the option that was best and was backed up by the feeling of the Force.

So she decided to bet on Naruto.

"Boy." She said, her voice firm and demanding his full attention. Upon seeing it, she knelt next to him and considered her words. "Are you…happy here?"

"Um, huh?"

"I saw what happened to you the other day. I've heard some of the things that the people around us said. None of what they said made any sense to me, but it was enough." Her expression softened a bit, hopefully helping Naruto feel a bit more relaxed himself. "So I'll ask again, are you happy here?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, letting her question sink in. It was a strange question, and a big one to ask to a child, but Naruto seemed to take it into considerable consideration. "I…I dunno. It's my home, but everyone looks at me weird and people pick on me. But…that's okay! I'll one day be so great they'll have no choice but to respect me!"

"…and how will you do that?"

Another question that Naruto hadn't put thought into. He'd spoken to the leader of the village – the Hokage – about respect and whatnot, but he'd just used big words that had very little meaning to the poor child when he'd heard it. "I dunno…somehow…"

An'ya nodded, making sure that Naruto paid attention to what she was saying. "What if I told you that I knew a way?"

"What? Really?! How?!" Naruto's eyes gleamed with unbridled curiosity and desire. She had his full and undivided attention, and she chose her words carefully.

"There's always more than one way to do something. Where I'm from, the people I am with are very respected, but they put in a lot of work. They travel all over the universe, and do everything they can to protect everyone in it."

Naruto's mouth opened slightly before quickly shutting as his face scrunched up in confusion. "What a uni-uni…verse?"

Closing her eyes, An'ya realized that with their position in the Maw, the concept of the universe wouldn't be all that common to them. "Think of this village. Tell me when you can see all of it." Naruto closed his eyes, trying his best to think of everyone in the village. "Now try to imagine if all those people were actually a village themselves, filled with as many people as your village."

Naruto's face scrunched up, almost unable to comprehend that many people. Still he did his best to try and follow her instructions.

"Now imagine that all of the people in those villages are villages, with people in them."

At this point, Naruto's eyes snapped open and his jaw dropped. "Are there really even that many people out there?"

"More than that. That many people would barely make up one planet. In a universe, there are many, many planets." An'ya replied, amusement on her face at his expression. Clearly the gravity of what she was saying was finally beginning to sink in.

Naruto's eyes swirled as he tried to comprehend the amount of people who could possibly make up these 'planets'. The number of people who lived out there, people he'd never met or knew about, seemed impossible. "And you…you protect all those people?"

"Not everyone, but that's why we work together. It's not just me, there are thousands of people like me who protect the universe from people who would hurt other people."

"And I could do that? I could help?" Naruto asked, "I could…keep other people safe?"

"You have a power, an ability that few others of your world seem to care about. If you come with me to the stars, you will be able to help others with it. And you'll have the chance to be the person who'll never turn away from another person in suffering." An'ya replied, giving her words a moment to sink in. Once he seemed to understand something of what she was saying, she quickly continued. "However, you won't be able to come back here…not for a long time Force willing."

"I won't come back?" Naruto muttered, looking behind him. The village around him was still barely waking, the sun now just below the eyes of the four faces on the mountain, and many memories washed over him. Despite his youth, and despite the fact that in all honesty he was in no position to make such a large choice, what he'd been through and what had happened to him had built up the belief that he had the right to this choice. "But…one day I could come back?"

"…if it is the will of the Force, then yes." An'ya said slowly, uncertain what the Force had in store for this boy's future.

"Then-then it doesn't matter where I go to be respected!" Naruto proclaimed, nodding resolutely. "If I go protect the universe, I can come back and be the sort of person everyone here will have no choice but to respect!"

An'ya nodded, knowing that as a Jedi, Naruto would eventually learn about what respect truly meant. "Is that a yes then?"

"Mhmm." Naruto said, nodding rapidly. "I want to do it. I want to be respected, and save everyone in the uni-u-uni…uh…"

"Universe."

"Right, the universe!" Naruto said, grinning brightly.

"Well then, if you feel you're ready, follow me." An'ya said, turning to leave the village. If he was truly committed, he'd follow. It was to no surprise to her when she felt him catching up to her to walk alongside her. Eerily, the words of the Force echoed once more in her mind, amplified with a strange sense of urgency.

_Take him from here. He must not remain here for long._

It was the dawn of a new day, and the beginning of a new saga for Naruto.

* * *

><p>An'ya dragged Naruto behind her, dodging and weaving through the trees before pulling Naruto onto her back. This had gone about how she'd expected, but she'd thought that they would have more time before it happened.<p>

Above her she could feel the Force flowing through the trees, doing whatever they could as she directed them to assist her in slowing their pursuers. The masked men looked menacing, some going as far as to simply cut through the foliage that suddenly popped up in front of them as they raced after her. The twisted feeling of the Force came from others, causing An'ya to dodge behind a tree just seconds before a destructive blast of wind barreled through the trees and cut through most things in its path.

Continuing on her path, she idly noted the way Naruto gripped her tightly and held him closer. "Relax Naruto, feel the Force around you, it guides me."

"But-but they just –" Naruto muttered, burying his face into her back as he glanced behind them at the oncoming forces. "They just destroyed stuff! And they're chasing us!"

"Relax. You'll miss out on what the Force is telling you if you don't." An'ya said, following where the Force directed her to go. Through her back, she let some of the Force flow through Naruto to allow him the opportunity to feel the Force as well, to hopefully calm him down from the blind panic.

Ducking under another tree, she flinched at how close the next barrage of earth came from them. Staying still, she closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. Feeling the light in the air, she began bending it around her and Naruto, creating an illusion of invisibility which she increased by moving very slowly in the shadows.

Despite the change in her attitude, Naruto remained tensely gripping her for a bit, eyes darting around. Though he could feel something foreign and confusing, he was slowly beginning to relax. Soon, even when the shadows of several more of their pursers appeared above them, he was more curious than anything. Could they not see that they were right here, walking on the forest floor?

There was a brief second where even An'ya froze, one of the members of their pursuit landing directly beside them. Wearing a dog mask, with a red scarf around his neck, his armor was different than some of the others; his was clearly more militarized, though had several more openings, with arm and leg guards made of some white almost bone-looking material. The Force all but shouted at her and Naruto to avoid his eyes, and though thoroughly confused, they both did so.

"Kakashi, can you see them?"

"…no. She can't have gone far though. Keep searching." The man, Kakashi, replied. He glanced around, looking where An'ya and Naruto had been seconds before, but saw nothing as they'd already continued on.

Naruto glanced back for a second, wondering what that had all been about. It didn't make sense to him with all those people chasing after them. Had An'ya done something wrong? She didn't seem like it, and if she was protecting everyone in the uni-verse, then she couldn't be that bad. It never once occurred to him that they were chasing because she'd taken him; after all he was just some kid from the streets.

It took quite a bit of time before they made their way to the top of the mountain, moving around towards where An'ya had parked her spaceship. Upon seeing it, Naruto's eyes widened in shock and surprise at the monstrosity before him. "Is this your house?"

"No, this is my ship." An'ya replied, opening the ramp before setting Naruto down. "This is how we'll be traveling to my home. Go ahead, check it out."

Naruto nodded, racing up the ramp into the ship with the curiosity that only a child could have. Smiling at his enthusiasm, she made her way up and headed towards the cockpit, the ramp closing behind her.

It took a little bit of time for her to take off, going through several systems checks to ensure that they hadn't been followed and created a technological disturbance for the planet by being seen. Thoroughly satisfied that they'd gotten far enough away and that their pursuers wouldn't be able to do anything even if they'd caught up, she fired up the engines and took off.

Taking a deep breath upon leaving the planet's atmosphere, she paused as she passed by the moon, a deep sense or revulsion towards the feeling of the dark side that radiated from it. Remembering Naruto was in back, she silently hoped that it hadn't startled him; she still had to pilot their way out of the Maw.

It took her several hours before she exited the Maw, careful piloting that only a user of the Force could make it through. Being able to see the stars was surprisingly novel for her, and she closed her eyes with a sigh. Idly plotting a course for Coruscant, she began to realize that there was something off.

Where was Naruto?

Finishing her course, she pushed back and made her way back into her cabin. Uncertain as to what was going on, she frowned as she systematically checked each of the rooms. She hadn't left him behind had she?

"Excuse me miss."

Pausing, she glanced at one of the droids she had aboard, a GH-7 medical examination droid, with a raised brow. "Yes?"

"It appears that the youngling you brought aboard is afflicted with some form of fright, and had hidden himself in the upper cupboard." GH-7 replied, motioning to one of the cupboards. If she observed it closely, there was a slight opening of it before it quickly closed again.

Shaking her head, she yanked the door open. Yelping at being exposed, Naruto stared wide eyed at An'ya as she was revealed in front of him. Noting the droid still behind her, his eyes widened imperceptibly as he pointed at it. "There's something behind you!"

There was a small silence as An'ya stared at him, causing him to suddenly squirm deeper back into the cupboard. Finally, she stepped back and pointed down at the floor in front of him. "Get out of there Naruto."

Naruto, still wary of the droid, scooted out and dropped in front of her. Shuffling in place, he nervously kept glancing from her to the droid.

"Is there some problem with GH-seven Naruto?" An'ya asked after a moment, getting somewhat perturbed by how jumpy Naruto now seemed.

"He-he's made of metal!" Naruto finally said, pointing at GH-7 with wide eyes. "People are supposed to be made of metal are they?!"

"…" Blinking at his strange question, she finally laughed softly and shook her head. "No, they aren't, but GH isn't a person, he's a droid."

"A…droid?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yes, a droid. Don't worry, I'll be giving you a crash course in droids and other robotics later. For now, why don't you go see how things look from the window? Do _not _touch _anything_, but go look. You might be…pleasantly surprised." An'ya said, motioning Naruto out of the room.

Naruto glanced back at GH-7 one more time with a skeptical look before going to where she indicated. It didn't take long for her to know that he'd found one of the viewports because he was exclaiming quite loudly his amazement and wonder.

"…GH?" An'ya said after a moment, rolling up her sleeve. "How did he get in the cupboard?"

"He leapt into it when I activated to do a preliminary medical scan. I only desired to check his vitals and make certain he was in good health." GH-7 replied, taking her arm and swabbing it gently. Drawing a small bit of blood, it began its diagnostics. "Did something happen down on the planet?"

"…not particularly, but…there's something about this boy…" An'ya replied, ignoring the droid's curious look towards him as she made her way over to watch him bounce around the room. He was so full of energy, so full of life, and yet there was also so much about him that made her both nervous and excited. Whatever there was in his future, something was going to change.

* * *

><p>AN: And that was my first chapter of this story. Hopefully you like, and if you have anything you'd like add or say about what you think of it please let me know. I'll be working on real life stuff first and foremost, but you'll hopefully see more of this and possibly even the other stories if I have the time.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I managed to pull out another chapter, but don't expect this to be a normal thing. Still, as anyone should know, writing early years _sucks_ so expect time skips in the future. However, due to some events that happened around this time that were why I'd chosen 45 BBY, there will be some 4-5 year old Naruto interactions and build up before I get to jump ahead.

Just so you're aware, I know that it's "overdone" or blah blah blah, but this is my story and there are elements that require Naruto to return to his home at some point. Now, if he learns to use chakra or not is a simple answer; no. Naruto will use the Force, and will be unable to use chakra. End of story...or is it? Well, when I get to those chapters, you'll understand why I'm saying what I am. Don't worry, it should be quite interesting.

Also, at the end of the chapter, please read the AN. I want to know more about what you all think of my question.

In the meantime, let's dive into more Naruto: From Darkness

* * *

><p><span>Coruscant<span> – _Several days later_

An'ya Kuro watched as Naruto pressed his face against the window, trying in vain to see everything he could about the city-planet of Coruscant. The amount of energy that had built up within him over these days had been nearly palpable, making the journey strangely relaxing; knowing that someone else was wound up with cabin fever let her relax and watch as he ran around the room. It was even funnier to watch him dive for cover any time a droid came into the room.

Guiding her ship down to the planet's surface, she contemplated the boy once more. The food she'd had in the ship that she'd made for him had been eaten like he'd never eaten before; considering his previous situation, the possibility was there that he hadn't eaten in a long time.

Then, when she'd required him to sit for GH-7 to have some examinations to make sure that he was alright, she'd blinked and realized he'd vanished into the cupboard. Had she been anyone else, she may have coaxed him out. Being the rough-around-the-edges rough woman she was, she reached in, yanked him out and sat him on the tabletop. It took the startled boy a moment to realize that he was in _much _more trouble than he ever remembered being in. The boy had become quite a bit more complacent, and had let GH-7 perform the necessary checkup. It had helped Naruto be less flighty from GH-7 the rest of the trip. No less fidgety, but he didn't run away anymore.

It had taken some time wrestling it out of him, but eventually he revealed his childish thoughts behind why GH-7 had startled him so much. According to him, he was like ghost or a monster; creeping out of the shadows to spook him and drag him away. So in other words, he'd just been scared and reacted out of instinct. Thinking about it, she'd then gone off to grab a holoprojector and shown him several of the other strange and curious species of the galaxy. Rather than being further afraid, or perhaps thanks to having forcibly gotten over his fear or GH-7, he'd sat beside her and inquired about each one she showed him.

They had spent a bit of time discussing some of what Naruto had been brought into, and to her surprise, the boy seemed to be taking it rather…well. Taken from the world around her, thrust into a world completely foreign and what would normally be considered uncomfortable for most other people. However Naruto took it in stride, a look of either intense concentration or confusion on his face until something she'd tell him made sense. If anything, leaving his world behind had simply closed one book and opened another.

Yet she couldn't help but feel that every so often his mind returned to that world with a sense of confusion and worry.

Leaving that to the side for now, she took the ship into the atmosphere and guided it towards the Jedi Temple. The moment the ship broke free of the clouds, multiple noises of awe and wonders came from Naruto as he drank in the sight.

"Is it all you expected?" She asked idly, glancing at the boy as he continually shifted in his seat to try and see everything he could.

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to her with a grin that stretched from ear to ear in a display of his raw excitement and giddiness. "It's even more!"

Shaking her head and making a mental note to help him curb his overwhelming feelings of excitement at some point, she pointed ahead of her. "Good to hear. Because if you look out there, that's where you'll be staying for the next little bit."

Naruto all but leapt forwards, eyes darting across the extensive terrain as he sought out the place that would be his 'home'. Seeing one of the buildings that clearly stood out, mainly due to the fact they were heading straight towards it, Naruto bounced in place. "Ooh! Ooh ooh is it that one?!"

Reaching over to push his head back, she flipped a few switches he'd been blocking to open the hangers in the temple before responding. "Yes Naruto, it's that one."

"So cool!"

Shaking her head, she guided the ship into the hanger, glad to see that everything was going smoothly so far. As she touched down though, she felt something through the Force and looked up. Frowning slightly, she sighed and shook her head; it was too good a thing to simply slip in and get things settled down before introducing Naruto.

Naruto, unaware of her feelings on the matter, only noticed an odd feeling that suddenly popped up around him, not unlike when Kuro had him hold onto her. "Huh? Wha? What's going on?"

"Don't worry Naruto, it's simply the Master's getting a feel for you." An'ya said, pushing herself away from the cockpit before making her way off the ship.

"Master's?" Naruto muttered, still spinning in place to try to find the strange source of the feeling. He'd been informed of who they were going to meet, as well as to show respect by referring to both her and them as 'Master' but the idea that there was someone he couldn't see checking him out was perturbing.

Stepping off the ship, An'ya Kuro stopped before the two Master's who'd approached her ship. "Greetings Master Gallia, Master T'un, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"We were nearby when we felt your return, and sought to confirm our feelings." Master Gallia replied softly, a faint look of concern on her face. "You had sent in your report about your mission, but then vanished for over a week. We'd worried that you'd become lost in hyperspace."

"…over a week you say?" The words struck her, reminding her that she had just flown through the Maw. "Well, this is true. However, during my return, the Force prompted me to turn away from my return home, and to investigate another path."

"Another path?" T'un said slowly, raising an eyebrow. He knew about An'ya Kuro's reputation as a Jedi who had previously removed all attachment to commit herself fully to the Force. As the Jedi who was in charge of logging new Initiates, he also knew her as being one of the best at finding obscurely hidden Force sensitives, to which her statement caused his interest to deepen. "And pray tell, where did this path take you?"

"To a world, trapped within the all-consuming depths of the Maw." An'ya replied without hesitation. The look on the Master's faces spoke volumes about their feelings on the matter.

The Maw was notorious throughout the galaxy. A large cluster of black holes, it had apparently been there for eons of time, simply moving in place as an ever apparent threat. To Jedi, the feeling of the Maw was one which none ever desired to feel more than once.

Master Gallia was the first to come around to a semblance of understanding of what she'd been saying beyond the Maw though. "I see. So then, I presume we have another child who you've brought to be tested?"

"I have, though it seems he's still preoccupied in the –"

"Oh my gosh! It's even bigger on the outside!"

"…ah, never mind then, it seems he's finally decided to poke his head out." She turned to Naruto, who was peeking out from the ramp in curiosity, but holding onto it like a sort of lifeline. "Come now, introduce yourself to the Masters."

"Eh?" Naruto's head turned to the other two Masters before he quickly ran down the ramp to stand by An'ya with an amazed look on his face. "Oh wow…you're even cooler up close!"

Both the Masters glanced up at An'ya, as though confirming their suspicions. Seeing her nod, they simply shook their heads at his exclamation. While it didn't happen as often with the introduction of many different alien races to different planets, they had seen that people's reactions to meeting with the various inhabitants of other worlds died down at some point. Apparently he was from one that hadn't had that luxury.

While the two masters were good natured enough to give him a moment, Kuro was less so."Alright now, enough gawking, introduce yourself."

"Huh? Oh!" Naruto looked down sheepishly, embarrassed for having been focused on the question. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you Masters." Naruto quickly bowed, staying with his face staring down for a while, uncertain on how long he was supposed to remain bowing.

"…alright, straighten up Naruto. That's enough."

Naruto all but bolted upright, his bright grin increasing as he looked once more towards the other two. The excitement was palpable, and both Masters turned towards Kuro once more. Master Gallia seemed the more intent about knowing more. "Do you require an escort to the Council? I'm sure they'll be intrigued to hear about your discovery."

Naruto glanced between them, completely ignorant of the slight tension of An'ya Kuro's face at Adi Gallia's question. "Can they?"

Taking a deep breath, An'ya slowly nodded. The Force's words had calmed since they'd gotten out of the Maw, but there was something…defensive about the Force now that she was here. What was it that caused her to be on edge so much? She'd hoped to meditate further on it but now they would be going into meet with the council before she could do anything to resolve the feelings. "That is more than acceptable. Don't wander and we'll see about getting you settled in, alright?"

"Okay!" Naruto said, bobbing in place as he walked along with everyone, following T'un in particular as he seemed to know where he was going, while the other two Masters walked behind him.

Glancing back to An'ya, Master Gallia raised an eyebrow in confusion at her attitude. "Have I said something to upset you Master Kuro?"

An'ya frowned, taking a slow breath before shaking her head. "…no. I simply wished for more time."

"More time?" Adi Gallia glanced at Naruto with an air of suspicion. "And may I ask happened in the Maw to bring up these thoughts?"

"You'll find out soon enough." An'ya replied, stepping past her to walk next to Naruto, not wanting any more distractions.

Eying Naruto for a second more, Adi Gallia shook her head. It was true, she'd find out soon enough. However, the hesitation to answer made her wonder. Reaching out with the Force, she gently let it brush against Naruto, hoping to gain some insight. To her frustration, she felt nothing out of the ordinary for a new initiate. Glancing to An'ya, she shook her head. Truly she'd have to wait to know what had happened on whatever planet Naruto had come from.

x-==-x

An'ya stood before the council silently, slight twitches in her stance as she looked from one member to the next. Each seemed to be appraising her, sizing her up as they waited for her report. She'd already taken care of her previous report, however this new 'mission' she'd undertaken of her of volition upon feeling the promptings of the Force. Taking a small breath, she finally addressed the council.

"I entered the Maw, and returned with a child who has been touched by the Force." She stated plainly, not willing to mince words. The feeling of unease was still lingering in her mind, and she wished to be done with this so that she could delve into meditation to determine what was causing it. "The world is placed in such a way that it isn't affected by the Maw to my knowledge, but it also keeps the opening where one might enter it under an indeterminable timetable. I can't pretend to know when it will open again or where in the Maw, but I do know…that the experience of being surrounded within the Maw is not one I wish anyone to experience in their future. Force willing, I hope to never have to go back either."

She received a few nods from the other Masters, but the rest remained passive as they waited for the rest of her report. Debating on how to explain the feelings she'd had on the planet. "The planet was militarized, and the Force flowed strongly through it, but…it was wrong. The Force was there, but it…wasn't connected. It was like the world had been once a part of the Living Force, but then had been cut off at some point. I believe it may have had something to do with the feeling in the air, which was not unlike the dark side that resided there."

"And so you brought back a child from the world?" Mace Windu asked, frowning at her words. The idea of a planet hidden from the universe with a feeling of the dark side was troubling. One hidden in the Maw where no Jedi could sense the Force on the planet was even more concerning.

An'ya nodded slowly, eyes glancing over the group of Masters as the worlds of the Force echoed again in her mind. "The Force was strong on that world, and it called out for me to take the child. He had no parents or guardian, and while the military likely would say that it staked claim on the boy the Force spoke louder. It lead me through the Maw during a very short time wherein there was a path to get to the planet."

The moment she said that, she could feel the unease and disappointment of the other Masters. She knew that what she'd done was not what was normally considered ethical for a Jedi; taking children from their home world without the permission of some form of parental figure was often considered a form of piracy or kidnapping after all. Regardless of the fact that the Force did tell her to take the child, there were still laws that had been set in place to protect people of other worlds.

Even before she or anyone said anything, they all knew that they couldn't exactly punish her for what she'd done either. The world in question, though existing in Republic space, was not actually a member of the Republic. This meant that if she were to be punished it would be under the laws of the planet rather than the Republic, and she clearly had no intentions of returning to the Maw; it also would be impossible if the path to the planet was no longer open. While unethical and unorthodox, their best choice at the moment was to hear her out.

Yoda, sensing that there was more to be said, addressed her next. "And what, Master Kuro, did the Force say, I wonder. Hm?"

"It told me to take him from the world, and that he shouldn't remain on the planet for much longer." She replied curtly, waiting to see what the other masters would say.

"And you determined that meant the boy was to leave with you, and be brought here?" Master Plo Koon asked, tapping his respirator lightly. Though often a more silent observer in these meetings, his own curiosity in her choice of action.

"He is Force sensitive, and there is the possibility of him becoming a Jedi. He's only four, so he should be more than capable of adapting to our way of life, and being taught to reach out to the Force." Noting a hint of concern in some of their eyes, her gaze hardened. "Do not forget that we've had other Jedi who have been performing quite well after adapting to their lives as Jedi. You yourself have trained Mundi, have you not Master Yoda?"

Yoda nodded, smiling brightly at the memory of his former apprentice. "A good Jedi, he's become. Guarantee of future successes, he is not. Much care with each student, we should take. Seen this, we have. Know this, you do."

"Of course Master Yoda." An'ya said, her expression softening considerably. "I merely spoke in his defense as I don't want him to be overlooked because of where and how he was found. He has a good heart, and will make a good Jedi if only he's given the chance."

"And what, Dark Woman, has he done to receive such high praise?"

"When all others on the planet walked on and dismissed me while resting in an alley, the boy showed concern for someone who he had never met. He'd also been persecuted by those in his home, once even while I was there, but he has shown a willingness and outright desire to help others." Glancing to those around her, she could see them contemplating her word. Sighing at how long this seemed to be taking, she motioned behind her. "If you'd prefer, we can call him in and we can let him speak for himself."

"Certain you are, that convince us he can?" Yoda said with a touch of amusement. His mind was already decided on the matter, but he knew that even from just her reputation alone there would be some who'd have their doubts.

"I am." She replied immediately, to her own surprise. While she knew that the boy could indeed help convince the council by speaking to them, her own conviction startled her. After less than a full week of being with the boy, the connection he'd managed to make with her.

Mace seemed to take in her words thoughtfully, her words speaking highly of the boy, yet he knew that he couldn't just take them at face value either. Nodding more to himself, he leaned back slightly in his chair and motioned to the door. "Send him in."

Opening the doors, Naruto fell face first onto the floor from his position where he was pressed against the door in a vain attempt to listen in on the meeting. Picking himself up, Naruto chuckled sheepishly at the Masters gathered in the room before quickly getting to his feet. Remembering Kuro's instructions, he quickly bowed to everyone in the room. "Um, hello! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. It's….uh, nice to meet you all!"

Naruto's eyes panned across all the Masters, his face lighting up once more at the amazing amount of diversity. His grin in turn expanded further, and he glanced from them to An'ya Kuro excitedly. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she motioned him into the room. "No gawking Naruto, it's not polite to stare like that."

"But-but!" Naruto exclaimed, motioning all around, before eventually pointing to Yoda. "There's so many of them! And-and there's a frog-person here!"

"…Naruto, I don't know what a frog is, but Master Yoda is not one of them." An'ya Kuro said, trying not to pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Intrigued by my appearance, you are?" Yoda asked, amused by the younglings confused exclamation.

"Yeah! And his, and his, and hers." Naruto said, fearlessly pointing to each of the Masters in turn who were of foreign origin. "You're all so different!"

Yoda nodded, knowing that all those there would now know that Naruto likely came from a world where only humans resided. "Hm, and what thing you of these differences, young Naruto?"

"They're so weird." Naruto said after a moment's thought. "But-but they're still better than that metal head that tried to attack me on the ship! And it's cool that they're different, but…"

"…but what Naruto?" Mace asked, noting him trailing off and look at all of them slowly. Upon speaking, Naruto looked right at him, into his eyes with a far off look in his eyes.

"You're all looking at me." Naruto said as he finally, his expression soft with a hint of longing in it. "And it's…it's not a mean look. You're just looking at me, and it's kinda…nice." Naruto paused, turning to Plo Koon with a skeptical look. "Except you…I can't tell how you're looking because of the face thing, but…I think it's a nice look."

All of them glanced from him to Kuro, to which she nodded slowly. Each of them took a moment to let him take in the feeling. Master Plo Koon just chuckled amusedly under his breath at how pointedly Naruto had pointed things out. He certainly wasn't one to mince words, and it seemed that he currently had no filter.

"So~" Naruto said slowly, the silence now finally wearing on him as he turned to look at all of them curiously. "You're all Jedi?"

"Yes Naruto, we're all Jedi." Master Adi Gallia said, still observing him with an undeterminable look in her eyes. Not that Naruto noticed; he was too busy being amazed and surprised by those around him.

"Whoa. And…" Naruto scrunched up his face and glanced up to An'ya Kuro. "Does being a Jedi mean I'm gonna get really old?"

The question was so innocent and out of left field that all of the Masters needed a second to consider that. "Why do you ask that Naruto?"

"Well, I mean…" Naruto pointed to a few of the Jedi who had been on the Jedi Council for some time, and who clearly had been around for quite a bit of time. "They're all old people, so when I become a super strong Jedi does that mean I have to become old too?"

Yoda chuckled, getting Naruto's attention as he tapped his cane on the floor. "When nine hundred years old, look this good will you?"

"…" Naruto blinked, mouth gapping open in surprise as he tried to contemplate that bit of information. "Nine…hundred?" Naruto suddenly crossed his arms and hummed, eyes closed as he considered something. "So, does that mean I'll have to take _that long _to become a good Jedi?"

"No Naruto, that's not –"

Naruto didn't seem to have heard Kuro, instead slammed his foot down and pointed at Yoda with a feral grin on his face. "Okay then! I'll just have to become an amazing Jedi in nine years then!"

The silence in the room was palpable, no one sure what had just happened. One second Naruto had seemed in awe and off balanced, the next he was shouting that he was going to be as good as Yoda in nine years. The silence was broken by Yoda, who chuckled softly for a second before pointing to Naruto. "Certain of this, are you?"

"Mhmm! I'll become just as strong as you, and more! And then, I'll become a Jedi who can protect anyone!" Naruto said with a sense of finality, nodding to himself triumphantly.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we test you, to see if we should accept you into the order?" Mace asked, already having an idea about Naruto's personality. Strong willed, stubborn, but good hearted. He would take the test, and if he passed it was quite possible that he would do everything he could to fulfill his statement; lofty and ignorant as it was.

"I'll take on any test you have!" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. "And then, you'll see that I'll do everything I said, and more!"

"Certain I am, that surprise us you will." Yoda replied, motioning to An'ya Kuro. "Test him we will. Our decision, after we'll give."

An'ya Kuro bowed to the Masters, stepping back to the door. "I will await your decisions Masters. In the meantime…please behave yourself Naruto."

"Okay." Naruto said, visibly saddened by her need to leave.

When she'd left, and Naruto had turned back to them, the Council took stock of him as he resolved himself for whatever they threw at him.

x-=-x

_Sometime later_

The Jedi Council mulled over the information that they'd gathered from Naruto's tests, as well as those given from the medical droid that An'ya Kuro had gathered on her ship. All were enlightening, and spoke volumes about the boy. However, about what to do to with the boy, was another matter altogether.

"What do you think of the boy?" Mace said after a moment, wanting to hear the other Master's opinions before finalizing his own.

"He's…an odd one." Master Gallia said after a moment. She had her doubts about the boy, though the medical results had shown that the boy was indeed Force sensitive, since his personality was so erratic. It made her somewhat troubled, having seen what become of several Jedi with such personalities.

"It seemed he was rather convinced that he would be able to pull of his promise. For one so young to have such conviction…it could become troubling, but only if left alone." Master Plo Koon remarked, more of a neutral stance towards the boy as of now. He could tell that there was potential, but he also knew that there could be trouble if Naruto was left to his own devices. An ambition left to itself could become quite the problem to the boy and to others.

"I understand that. I've seen such things in other students. Siri has shown herself to be quite capable of controlling herself, but even she has had her moments where I wonder." Master Gallia sighed, shaking her head. "It's not that the boy doesn't have the potential, it's that…he was taken from his home. What right do we have to take him from it?"

"We don't. But what's done is done, and now he's here." Mace said, closing his eyes with a short exhale of breath before turning to Yoda. "What are your thoughts on the matter Master Yoda?"

"Focus, not his strong suit, it is." Yoda said after a moment's thought. He'd seen how distracted the boy had become, clearly struggling with some of the questions they'd asked and the requirements they'd given. "Another skill time will help, I think."

"So from the sound of it, everyone is considering to at least let Naruto have a chance then?" Mace asked slowly, his own opinion still sitting rather neutral towards the boy.

"A chance, but he should be monitored." Adi Gallia said after a moment, crossing her arm. "No Jedi has ventured before into the Maw, and before now we never would have guess that there was anything within the Maw. We don't know the affect it will have on him and the Force."

"But allowed with the younglings, he will be." Yoda sighed, shaking his head. "Clouded his future may be, but open we should be, to cultivating a bright future for him."

Mace looked between them all, feeling that they were all coming to an agreement with one another. Sighing softly, he rubbed his hands together slowly as he felt that the decision was finalized. "Does anyone oppose this decision then, or have anything else they wish to add?" Everyone looked at one another, shaking their heads as Mace nodded slowly. "Then it's settled. Naruto Uzumaki will be trained as a Jedi. May the Force be with him."

* * *

><p>AN: So, Naruto is going to be a Jedi, though with some skepticism. As was said, he is Force sensitive, though in the next chapter I'll show a few of his failings, heehee. Next chapter will also introduce a few of the other connections that will play a big part of Naruto's future, and I'm really looking forward to them.<p>

Now onto the big question I need to ask you all. You see, I've glanced through Force Powers, and the list is _extensive_. From Control, to Sense, to Alter, just the neutral abilities, to the Jedi/Sith specific powers, there are a huge amount. I've already gone through and picked out several that Naruto will use because they match him or they match what he'd need to know and as such would put extensive study into. However, I'm curious as to what you all want him to use. So, I'll leave this open for a while for people to give suggestions for quite a few chapters. Once I've got a selection of powers, I'll put them into a poll. Depending on how many abilities you all select, will depend on how many I'll have him learn. As such, see for yourself, check out **Wookiepedia** and see what you'd like to see Naruto do and we'll see if we can make it happen.

Until next time, have fun everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: More Star Wars stuff that I was able to squeeze out in between some finals stuff, so enjoy another chapter of _From Darkness._

* * *

><p><em>Several Months Later<em>

"Naruto Uzumaki, come down from there."

"But Master Ali-Alann meditating is so boring!"

The human minder sighed as he stared up at Naruto, who had somehow managed to climb his way up a statue and was looking down at her with a pout. Ever since he'd arrived in the group, he'd been very much a handful. He had dealt with his fair share of troublemakers before, and so it wasn't something he worried about. However, he was also thankfully the only troublemaker in the group he'd been placed in, and as such he just had to worry about taking care of Naruto while the rest meditated. At least, when Naruto hadn't convinced one or two of them to play along and look for a place to hide.

Today, he'd chosen to try to escape to the upper levels by going up a statue that had left him rather stranded when he'd discovered that the statue wasn't as close to the upper railing as he'd expected. "Naruto, now is not the time for this. You know Master Yoda is known for being able to meditating for hours."

"But Master Yoda knows way to much too! I need to figure out how to study while meditating so I can catch up faster!"

If it had been any other moment, any other person, or perhaps if Naruto had said this at some other moment, he'd have smiled. As it was, his unamused expression remained. "Do so on your own time then. You are supposed to be learning to connect to the Force, and you cannot do so if you continue to skip out on your lessons like this."

Naruto pouted, staring across to the railing. Making annoyed, disappointed noises, he tightly gripped the statue and made his way down towards her. "Alright, I'm coming."

Ali-Alann stepped back, letting Naruto drop in front of him. Brushing out his tunic, Naruto's head remained bowed as he looked away. Shaking his head, he sighed softly and motioned for him to follow. Shuffling in front of him, he muttered under his breath in defeat. With a shake of his head, he led him back to the meditation chambers, making sure he went over and sat on his mat.

Disgruntled by his failures, he already knew from the moment he sat down that he wouldn't connect to the Force the way he was meant to. Sitting down across from there, Ali-Alann closed his own eyes to meditate, letting the Force reach out to the younglings to allow them to feel the Force from her. Naruto was a bit distracted, so he let him be for a moment.

Naruto bit his lip, eyes clenched closed as he tried to connect to the Force. For all his talk about being as good as Master Yoda, he'd found himself learning very slowly and with great difficulty. He had begun to get a slight feel for the Force, and could tell that Ali-Alann was trying to help, but it still felt so weird to feel someone else in the Force.

Since arriving in his group, he'd found that the younglings were very open to his presence. Most were more confused than anything, and uncertain as to why he had joined them at his age rather than the young age that most others arrived in. A couple of them didn't let that discourage them from reaching out to him though. It had been very disorienting and taken a while to get used to them. Their attention had been positive, uplifting, and Naruto had drank it in with gusto. He didn't care who they were, what race, or where they came from, he had begun counting a couple of them amongst the small, but growing group of friends.

Each of them was unique in their own way, and all had helped him adjust into the clan. Jax was a heavyset Human, who helped point out their schedule and occasionally kept Naruto from wandering off and getting into trouble. However, he'd shown a slight weakness when it came to his desire to get his hands on a lightsaber. On more than a few occasions when Naruto had been making his way to the training room, he'd managed to convince Jax to join him.

Sheeka, a female Rodian, had patiently allowed Naruto to excitedly look over her appearance for a few moments before he'd settled down to introduce himself. There was a slight language barrier, but Yasuo had helped since it was mostly just Naruto's lack of understanding her lisp at first. According to her, she was still struggling with Basic despite her three years already in the Temple. She was also the most willing to follow him on 'adventures' as she was eager to progress past just the basic information they were learning as Naruto was.

Yasuo was the final friend he'd made, and was normally quite the loner until Naruto had shown up. Quiet and soft spoken, he was an interesting contrast to Naruto's loud and boisterous nature. He worked with Jax to hold Naruto back, and occasionally had to struggle to hold both Naruto and Jax back when the two were teamed up and heading to the training room. He was the only one who didn't follow them, but since he didn't tell on them he was considered okay in their holocrons.

Holocrons. Now _that_ was interesting for Naruto. Born on a world that relied primarily on paper and pen to write things or transmit information, holocrons and methods of displaying information were stunning to Naruto. Sheeka had often teased him when he'd become startled by a new feature that he didn't realize was in the programming, until Naruto would try yelling that she hadn't known either. This lasted until they realized that their arguing attracted 'unwanted attention', meaning that a Master or Knight would find them and they'd be returned to Ali-Alann. But more often than not they'd be caught helplessly captivated by whatever holocron they'd stumbled across.

At the moment, Sheeka was giving him a Rodian variant of a frown. He looked away abashedly, knowing she was upset that he'd tried to skip mediation without her. She'd been focused on actually meditating before, and Naruto had thought it better to let her meditate. Apparently that had not been the best choice.

Glancing to his other side, Yasuo was just shaking his head in exasperation. Jax raised an eyebrow at his antics, getting a helpless shrug from Naruto. He was just to wound up, to energetic and needing a release. For some reason, the physical exercises always came _after_ mediation, so Naruto was never able to relax and feel the Force. His friends knew this, and tried to help but they were just kids. They wanted to have fun and adventure just as much as Naruto did most of the time.

And speaking of adventure… "Got stuck again huh little man?"

Naruto's eyes peaked open, and a grin blossomed across his face. "Aurra!"

Ali-Alann flinched slightly at the voice, glancing over his shoulder as the older youngling waved at Naruto. "Hello Aurra, did Master Kuro release you early?"

"Yes Master." Aurra said, bowing to the master. From her position where she couldn't be fully seen by Master Ali-Alann, she winked to Naruto. Seeing him brighten, she smiled herself. "Actually, she was hoping that I would be allowed to borrow Naruto for a little bit. If that's alright with you Master?"

Ali-Alann's eyes narrowed, knowing full and well the relationship the two of them had. However, An'ya Kuro _had_ occasionally sent Aurra to retrieve Naruto. He didn't know for what, but he did know that whenever she had, Naruto had returned much more willing to sit still and learn. For the rest of the day at least, then he was back to his normal self. "Did she send the required forms this time, or is this another verbal arrangement?"

"Verbal arrangement." Aurra said smoothly, already having figured out the right way to say things to get the youngling overseer to let Naruto come with her. "She heard he caused some problems yesterday and wanted to…assist you."

Naruto flinched at that, remembering the _last_ time she'd assisted. He still felt that he could taste the floor from how many times he'd fallen over from exhaustion.

It apparently that was enough for Ali-Alann. Nodding slowly, he motioned to Naruto. "Naruto."

Naruto was up and rushing over to Aurra as soon as he heard his name called. Skidding to a stop beside the master, he bowed to him quickly. "Thank you Master." Before he could say anything more, Naruto and Aurra were running down the hallway.

"…he's gonna get in _tho _much twouble." Sheeka muttered, getting nods from both Jax and Yasuo in agreement.

x-=-x

"Thanks Aurra, I was getting _so_ bored in there!"

Aurra smirked, ruffling Naruto's hair roughly. "Don't thank me yet. Master Kuro will skin ya alive if she finds out you skipped again."

"Well then you'll just have to help me escape so we can do this again!" Naruto said with a grin, eyes roaming around all the little details of the hallways. The sheer size of the building, and the infrastructure of the Jedi Temple made him continually amazed in just how different it felt to him. "Besides, it's more fun to learn with you than to just sit around and do nothing. With you we actually get to do things and I learn more about actually being a Jedi. And-and you can teach me how to use a lightsaber again!" Looking up to her with a bright smile, he began bouncing in place. "Ooh! Can we? Can we do saber stuff today?"

"Well, that's some of the funner stuff to do, so~" Aurra tapped her chin impishly, not responding for a second before returning Naruto's smile. "Alright, why not?"

Naruto whooped loudly, racing down the hall towards the training room. Aurra Sing; the first being Naruto had met who was a human/alien hybrid, as apparent by her alabaster skin. It hadn't taken to long before Naruto had been introduced to the older youngling. Another child found by An'ya Kuro, she'd been found on some world called 'Nar Shaddaa', which she'd told him was reputed to be a very bad place. However, she'd been found and brought to the Jedi Temple upon An'ya Kuro's finding her. When they'd finally met, the two had quickly bonded; both mischief makers who tended to team up to get in and out of trouble.

Despite Aurra being older than Naruto by almost five years, the two of them got along quite well. Aurra wasn't the greatest teacher, but Naruto took each of her words into consideration and to the surprise of some they actually did help. Unfortunately she also filled his head with other things that were unbecoming of a Jedi, things that made those who could become her master wary of taking her on as their Padwan. As such she was still stuck as a youngling, waiting and wondering what would happen to her.

There were many things about them as a duo that worried masters. Aurra was not exactly the best influence, and with each time they met up Naruto seemed to be more and more wound up as he become hungrier for activity and knowledge. However, in contrast, whenever the two of them were together, Naruto seemed to have an interesting effect on Aurra. The way he spoke, innocent yet enthusiastic, made Aurra a bit more willing to listen to what her teachers would tell her rather than simply dismiss them. After all, she wanted to look as smart as possible in front of her young friend.

Entering the training room entrance, the two looked around warily for a little bit before slipping in as soon as they saw it was clear. Normally training equipment was put away in such a way that younglings who did not have permission could not get to the training sabers. However, with a bit of messing around and wanting to get better and impress the masters with her saber skills, Aurra had learned how to get into a few of them. This allowed her to get two training sabers from their lofty position, and allowed her and Naruto to mess around with them.

Naruto, though eager, patiently waited for Aurra to pull them down. He'd learned the hard way not to rush her when the one time he had he'd ended up running around the room being chased by Aurra with the two training sabers in her hands. It had ended with An'ya coming in, seeing the events, and sitting down to watch. According to her, Naruto had earned the punishment, and she wouldn't stop it until Aurra had felt he'd learned his lesson. Based on his actions now, it had apparently worked.

What Naruto didn't know was that An'ya had taken her off to the side after they'd finished and had a vigorous training session wherein Aurra had collapsed by the end. Despite the fact that Aurra's method had made sense, An'ya had used it to teach Aurra that there's more than one solution, and that letting her anger and frustration get the better of her would only lead to further punishment.

Handing Naruto the smaller saber, Aurra grinned widely. "So, you ready to learn some more shii-cho?"

Naruto smirked confidently, igniting the lightsaber with a now all too familiar snap-hiss. Sliding his feet awkwardly into the traditional starting stance, he gripped the slightly-to-large lightsaber in his hands. "Bring it!"

Rolling her eyes at Naruto's antics, she assumed the same stance. Hers was clearly more refined, more balanced, and as per usual for their sparing sessions, she would show him the error of his stance the only way she knew how; with plenty of practice, and pain for him to be reminded of what happened when he failed.

The two blue blades looked like blurs to the two younglings, though for Aurra it was more focused and refined. Naruto's flailed a bit, but was soon met with Aurra's simple defense that stopped him in his tracks. It was the one attack he knew he could get in, and from that moment on, he was back peddling and on the defensive. Her blade was hardly even visible to him, his own a fraction of a second to late with many of his blocks. Only sheer force of will and determination kept him focused with each jolt of pain from where her training saber struck his side. Training sabers were designed and built with crystals that weren't meant to be damaging in the long term, but if you were struck by it you certainly wouldn't forget where the pain was.

With each movement and each swing, Naruto very slowly began emulating what he saw. It still was nowhere near perfect as he wasn't able to practice with the lightsabers each day, but each time he practiced he got just a little bit better. Pain was a good motivator to get better, and while using pain to fuel ones motions might be considered an act of using the dark side, Naruto still had barely any sort of connection to the Force. When he pushed through the pain it was sheer willpower that did so. He still had much to learn in regards to those particular Force techniques after all.

Distracted by a brush against the back of his leg, he blinked as an odd sensation pushed on his wrists. Glancing down, the flash of her saber against his own circled perplexingly, and then a second later was flicked up; along with his own lightsaber. Staring up at it in confusion, he quickly became very aware of the fact that he was disarmed, and that Aurra once more had both lightsabers in her hands.

"…wait what?" Naruto asked, still trying to figure out how he'd been disarmed.

"Here, let me show you again." Aurra said smugly, handing Naruto his lightsaber back. Placing the blade of hers against his once more, she slowly recreated what she'd done slowly. "I just pushed down with my saber against yours, then moving mine in a circular motion –"

"You disarmed him and left him without a saber. It's a good technique, if you know how to use it."

Both of them whirled around to face the source of the sudden voice, lightsabers up in defensive positions. Seeing their defensive reaction, the young man raised an eyebrow. "Was I interrupting something?"

"…yes, you were." Aurra said, not liking the fact that someone had snuck up on her. She'd thought she'd learned how to hear better, and had tried to pay attention at all times. Clearly she still had much to learn if she was to stop people from sneaking up on her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" The boy looked between the two, then to the empty room. "…you…aren't supposed to be here, are you?"

"Uh, no, we are." Naruto unconvincingly stated. Seeing the boy's skeptical look, Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. "We are!"

"Right, I'm sure." The boy said, chuckling softly. Holding up his hands in a placating manner, he quickly continued. "Don't worry, I won't say a word."

Aurra frowned at him, but Naruto seemed to accept his statement. "Oh okay then!" Naruto skipped up to the guy, looking him over curiously. "I'm Naruto! Who are you?"

"I'm Obi-wan Kenobi. And who are you?" Obi-wan asked, glancing over to the final member of their room.

Naruto glanced back to Aurra, not noting her defensive stance and only noting that she was remaining silent. "Her name is Aurra. She's helping me with shii…uh…um." Naruto looked sheepishly back to Aurra. "Um, Aurra? What's it called again?"

"Shii-cho."

"Yeah, that's it! Shii-cho!" Glancing back to Obi-wan, Naruto's head tilted slightly. "Wait…why are you here Obi-wan?"

"I was hoping for an empty training room to practice some of my velocities." He replied, motioning to a training saber held in his hand. "But if you've already claimed it I can just –"

"I don't mind sharing." Naruto said quickly. Glancing back to Aurra, at this point he noticed her discomfort. "Aurra?"

"Huh? Oh uh…yeah, sure. I don't mind I guess. Just don't throw us off, alright?" Aurra said, crossing her arms with a small scowl.

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Obi-wan's arm. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

Obi-wan allowed Naruto to guide him in, staring at Aurra with a bemused smile. He'd already figured out that they weren't supposed to be here, but then when he was a youngling he'd never gotten an opportunity to touch a lightsaber until he'd been a year or two older himself. It wasn't exactly what the order usually allowed, but he himself had some rocky relations with the Order after he'd recently left it to join the civil war effort on Melida/Daan. While he'd been recently allowed back, he could sense that they weren't all that pleased with his choice, and were wary of his return. It had also meant that he'd gotten just a bit more rusty with his saber skills than he'd have liked and had come here to refresh his memory.

Standing by them, he was surprised when rather than standing side by side, they faced off against each other. Looking between the two, he could see that Naruto had _no_ idea on even the most basic of shii-cho stances, while Aurra had a fairly good if overbalanced stance. It would allow her to quickly overpower poor Naruto, who had most of his weight on his back foot. Sighing softly, he ignited his saber between them to make them pause before reengaging.

"Hold up." Seeing their confused look, he deactivated his saber and grabbed Naruto's shoulders. "Lean forward just a bit, and move your feet like…this."

Naruto blinked, feeling awkward in his new stance. Glancing at Obi-wan, he nodded as he tried to keep the stance as he refaced off against Aurra.

Aurra's eyes narrowed at Obi-wan, not liking how he'd just waltzed in and started correcting Naruto. However, she wasn't much better in her form, and simply allowed him to continue. She shifted her weight back as he corrected Naruto, impatient and wanting just to delve back into saber combat. Glancing to Obi-Wan, a thought occurred to her. "Hey, why are you helping him?"

Obi-wan paused, glancing back to Aurra while Naruto settled into the stance to get a feel for it. "Hm? Well, why not? I mean, we're Jedi, so we're supposed to help people right?"

"Well, why don't you show him how good you are then?" Her training saber leveled at Obi-wan challengingly, her face scrunched up into a slight scowl. "Unless you think you're just too much better than us?"

"What? No I…" Obi-wan shook his head, her sudden challenge reminding him of his time as a youngling where he'd been so confident in his saber skills. He still felt he was good, but the challenge seemed so silly at this point. From the look in her eyes though, he got the impression that she wasn't going to let up on this issue. "I suppose I don't have a choice then, do I?"

Naruto scampered off to the side, sitting down by the wall with a grin. "Get 'im Aurra!"

Obi-wan grinned, assuming a practically picture perfect starting shii-cho stance. Before he could say anything Aurra rushed him, saber blurring into motion. Each strike was quickly blocked, keeping her from pressing an advantage by using a hint of ataru (Form IV) footwork to spin around her and keep her from pushing him back into a wall.

Shii-cho was a basic form, designed during the transition between using swords and using lightsabers to allow those using lightsabers an easier transition between the two. It was too simple for saber combat when the Sith came through, but for younglings it was a great for helping them get a feel for using a lightsaber. It's biggest issue though was that those who hadn't learned how to refine it the form was clunky and gave itself away in its movements. This made exploiting those openings all too easy for someone who was skilled enough to see them.

"Ow!"

Obi-wan smirked as Aurra's saber was dropped to the ground, his strike just above her hands startling her without hitting her to disarm her. Shifting his wrist, the blade rose up just under her chin, making her freeze up. "Is that skilled enough for you?"

Naruto watched the fight with wide, unblinking eyes. Surprised and confused when Aurra lost, he hummed softly. Obi-wan had done some stuff that he hadn't seen Aurra do, but then he was bigger than her too. Nodding to himself, he grabbed his saber and ran over to them. "My turn my turn!"

"What?" Obi-wan turned to Naruto, only to have to block the wild swings of the pint-sized youngling as he began chaotically swinging his saber at the older boy. While part of him wanted to ask Aurra to call Naruto off, from the glimpse of her smirk, he got the impression that she was enjoying herself as he was caught flat footed.

Naruto's form was sloppy, wild, and a perfect mindset of what shii-cho was. However, even with all that, Obi-wan was nine years his senior and had both more experience and more knowledge of how to use his lightsaber. As such, once he regained his footing, it was by simple means that he went about disarming Naruto. Using the simple, circular disarming technique, Naruto's weak grip on his lightsaber caused it to be easily thrown into the air for Obi-wan to catch.

Unfortunately for him, Naruto wasn't quite as defenseless as he thought. While his eyes followed Naruto's lightsaber in an attempt to catch it out of the air, Naruto's eyes were focused quite clearly on him. He'd just had it happen once before, and he wasn't going to let himself go down without a fight like the first time. Gathering all the strength he could muster in his small body, he lashed out and kicked Obi-wan in the shin.

Obi-wan balked at the kick, making him miss the falling saber. Diving for it, Naruto quickly scooped up the lightsaber and turned back to Obi-wan. Realizing that the lightsaber was no longer active, he fumbled for a second as he tried to turn it back on.

"The red button you dolt!" Aurra shouted, trying hard not to giggle but failing at what she'd just seen.

"I knew that!" Naruto shouted back, reactivating the saber before looking back to Obi-wan.

"What in the world was that?" Obi-wan asked indignantly, rubbing his shin gently.

"What was what?" Naruto asked innocently.

Obi-wan gawked at Naruto's blatant disregard of what he'd just done. "…you kicked me in the shin."

"No I didn't."

"Yes. You did." Obi-wan frowned, glancing to Aurra for assistance. "You saw him do it."

"Saw him do what?" Aurra asked innocently. She was having too much fun watching Obi-wan struggle with Naruto, and seeing the little boy running around him was quite hilarious to watch.

"I…you…" Obi-wan shook his head, trying to clear his mind of his frustration. He could tell that she was goading him, but it was still getting to him enough to make it more difficult to focus.

"Hi-yah!" Naruto shouted, swinging his saber down again. This time Obi-wan didn't bother blocking, merely sidestepping to let Naruto flail past him. Naruto shouted, falling over on his face with a grunt. As he picked himself up, his eyes slowly turned to see the glow of Obi-wan's saber right next to his face. "…uh-oh.

"Are you done?" Obi-wan asked, not moving yet as he waited for his reply.

Before Naruto could answer though, another voice cut him off. "What's all this?"

Obi-wan stood up straight, his lightsaber quickly deactivating as he turned to the door. "Master Qui-gon."

Naruto glanced up, staring at the newcomer with wide eyes. The older man was clearly a higher ranked Jedi, and suddenly Naruto realized that they'd been caught. Sharing a look with Aurra, both of them tried to slowly slip into the background as Obi-wan dealt with him. Before they could move, the master – Qui-gon – turned to face them. Both of them stared up at him with wide eyes, unsure what to make of his presence.

Qui-gon glanced between the two of them, knowing full and well that this wasn't an area they were supposed to be in at the moment. Humming softly, he searched his memory for anything he'd heard about on the two. "Aurra Sing, am I correct."

"…yes master." Aurra said dejectedly. Apparently her reputation now preceded her, as Qui-gon's raised a brow in recognition. Many masters had heard of her from An'ya Kuro, which made sneaking past most masters a problem.

However, Qui-gon wasn't most masters. Glancing to Naruto, he smiled kindly. "And who might you be youngling?"

"Me? Uh, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm gonna be a super strong Jedi even faster than Master Yoda!" Naruto proclaimed brightly, throwing his hands in the air.

Qui-gon chuckled softly, motioning to the training area. "Is that so? Is that why you're skipping out on meditation with the other younglings?"

Naruto scrunched in on himself, looking down sheepishly. "I can't meditate. It's so boring, and I can't focus on anything."

Qui-gon hummed softly, reaching out to the in the Force in the room. To his surprise, the Force was flowing through the room, particularly around Naruto. Despite the situation he'd seen of the two dueling, Naruto was a focal point of Force energy during the fight, which implied to him that Naruto was unconsciously using the Force to assist him against his older, larger, and more competent opponent. Had he actually been able to feel the Force and use it, it's likely Obi-wan would have had a more difficult time dealing with the young boy and his wild form.

"Perhaps I can speak with your instructor. There is more than one way to meditate after all. If sitting still doesn't work, perhaps something a bit more active, like alchaka might be more suited for you."

Qui-gon mulled it over, knowing that it wasn't common for instructors to teach alchaka until their later years, but occasionally they did make an exception for students who were exceptionally wound up and couldn't focused. Likely Naruto was still young enough that they didn't consider him to out of line to instruct him in alchaka yet, but the boy was clearly restless and it might benefit him to have a more rigorous method to ease him into feeling the Force.

"Alchaka? What's that?" Naruto's eyes gleamed with hope, wanting nothing more than to be able to do something interesting during meditation time. As much as he enjoyed sneaking out to do other things, his connection to the Force was falling behind that of his peers as he was unable to sit still during meditation, making his connection to the Force more limited than theirs. If there was a way he could at the very least keep up until he learned to sit still, he'd take it.

Qui-gon smiled at the boy's inquisitive nature. It reminded him a bit of himself when he'd become Dooku's padawan, and a bit of Obi-wan when he'd become his padawan. "I'll have them show you, rather than tell you. After all, it appears that you are more of an action oriented learner than simply someone who follows instructions."

"Um, well yeah! I like doing the stuff, not just hearing it." Naruto said, nodding in the most sage-like manner he could muster for his age. "It's more fun that way!"

"That and you have the attention span of a mynock." Aurra interjected 'helpfully'.

"Aurra I do not!" Naruto whined loudly. Almost as a demonstration of said attention span, he quickly whipped his head back to Qui-gon. "So, can you teach me? Please? Please please please please please~?"

Qui-gon shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Obi-wan and I just got back from a mission and will be reporting in soon. Perhaps I can speak with your instructor?"

"Master Ali-Alann? Um, okay, if you can get him to teach me the super awesome alchaka thing that'd be awesome!"

Obi-wan glanced to Aurra, who was covering her mouth to keep from giggling. He also knew what alchaka was like, and the idea of a young four year old trying to perform the complex and exhausting maneuvers was pretty funny. Before he could say anything, Aurra put a finger to her lips, shushing him to try and keep him from warning Naruto. He just rolled his eyes, more than willing to keep quiet for now. Noticing Qui-gon suddenly looking at him, he smiled sheepishly, getting a bemused smile.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure Aurra and Obi-wan would both be more than happy to help."

Naruto's eyes widened, turning slowly with a nervous laugh. "Uh, hey there Master Kuro. I didn't think I'd see you here."

Appearing from behind Qui-gon, An'ya raised an eyebrow at the trio. Obi-wan was oblivious to what was going on, but Aurra had also tensed up and was staring up at her with an expression akin to horror on her face. Now the fun of watching Naruto struggle would end up being them struggle with him. With a soft moan of defeat, she gave in.

They both were smarter than to say anything when Kuro showed up. It was better to go along with what would be a rigorous and difficult training than to fight against her and have an even worse punishment than before. It would be a long time before any of them were able to feel anything other than pain and the Force.

* * *

><p>AN: And with that, there's a couple of the big connections Naruto's going to have for the future. Obviously there will be more people for Naruto to interact with and by doing so change the universe. How and who...well some are obvious while others will be just fun ways that you'll just have to wait and see.<p>

Now, I won't be answering every comment, however those that were phrased as questions I will be answering.

**LordGhostStriker:** A fantastic question! Obviously I yanked Naruto straight from his universe, so the answer hopefully is obvious; yes, the Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto still. How that works and several other details about that...well, don't worry, I'll explain that in the future.

**chessmasterWII**: First off, yes Force Drain is a Sith technique, but there are other Jedi alternatives that might've worked as well. However, Naruto's ability to "automatically" understand Basic and for Kuro to understand Naruto's world will be answered in actually around the same time as the explanation to **LordGhostStriker**'s question is explained in futher detail. Don't worry, I didn't overlook that detail, I just haven't explained how that detail works yet.

Well then, that's all the questions that were asked for now. So until next time, have fun and I hope you enjoyed chapter 3.

EDIT: Thank you SO much to **Juoppo** for pointing out an error I'd made. I'd misread some information and wrote down the wrong stuff until they pointed it out. So thank you VERY much for the assist, and for having good Star Wars info to correct me where I'd made a mistake!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Um, okay I really don't want you all to think that the "every two days" updating will be a thing, but when I finish a chapter I just cant help but post it. Thought that _did_ get me in a bit of trouble last time since I forgot a bit of information that thankfully was pointed out. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up a similar pace when I'm out of my finals at the end of the week, but then if I can keep the pace for now, I'll just need to make sure that the flow stays good.

And these next chapters will certainly be interesting in building up a few of the changes that aren't a part of the normal Star Wars universe. So, let's get into it.

* * *

><p><em>A Week Later: Meditation Chamber<em>

"I…hate…Qui-gon…and…Kuro…"

"Nawuto, you thouldn't thay things like that."

"I…regret…nothing."

Sheeka pouted at the prone figure of Naruto, shaking her head before letting Naruto suffer in silence. Glancing to the others, she slowly shrugged upon seeing their inquisitive looks. It was definitely weird to see Naruto so tired and out of it. He still somehow managed to hold himself together during their physical activities somehow, but that was usually after he had a nap for the last bit of their meditation sessions. During the first part, he was missing from their group.

Even Ali-Alann seemed perturbed by Naruto's behavior. While on one hand it was relaxing knowing that he didn't have to worry about Naruto running off. On the other, when Master Jinn had asked him to lend Naruto for the beginning half of meditation to go over alchaka forms to help him with his meditation, he had expected him to go easy on the poor boy. The disheveled state he was in was…rather concerning.

To be honest, his happy attitude about the situation was perhaps even more perplexing. While he was complaining and bellyaching at the moment while he was in pain, at a certain point when the Force began flowing through him, he'd quiet down and seem to be ready to go after he'd meditated with the rest of his group. Truly meditating as well; cross-legged and calm once he connected to the Force and got up from panting exhaustedly on his stomach.

Ali-Alann bit the inside of his cheek, focusing on the children before him in an attempt to ease out the memory of what she'd heard about Master Yoda. According to what he'd heard, someone had been messing with things in the Jedi Temple. Around a month ago, someone had taken all the training sabers from the senior training rooms, and taken out a strange set of computer records. More surprisingly than that was the message that had been left scrawled on one of the Temple walls.

_COME YOUR TIME WILL. BEWARE YOU MUST, TROUBLE I AM._

Then, shortly after Naruto had run off the week before, someone had attempted to kill Master Yoda. There weren't many details, but from what he'd heard he'd been on his way to the Room of a Thousand Fountains when he'd been assaulted. Some Dark Jedi had entered the temple and placed a bomb in the room in an attempt to kill the aged master. Apparently they'd become overzealous though, and given away their position and slipped up, making their intentions known just before he would have killed Yoda. Despite this they had decided to further add insult to injury, the assailant had left another message on the Temple walls.

_MEDITATE ON THIS, MASTERS; NEXT TIME I WILL NOT FAIL._

And meditate on it he was doing. It was not his place to solve the problem; his duty was to protect the younglings in his charge, and keep them calm during times of crisis. However, that did not mean that his insight wouldn't be needed should there be anything he could think of to help assist those who were investigating the matter.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he glanced once more to Naruto. He was now a little glow of emotions in the Force, fluctuating between his previous exhaustion and elation at finally touching the Force once more. It really did wonders to see him like this, though the method had not been exactly the way he expected it to be. Still, the end result had not yielded adverse side effects, and if anything he was more of a positive influence…for now. He still knew that things could change, but for a week's worth of change it was very welcomed. He could also feel the way he was connecting to others in the Force-

His meditation suddenly shifted focus, welcoming the distraction as he began studying the Force with interest. During his time overlooking the younglings, he'd seen many things from the younglings through their juvenile usage of the Force. Many had shown talents in a variety of subjects, from lifting themselves into the air, to suddenly feeling premonitions of the future in the Force. While Naruto's situation wasn't all that different, the feeling was startling nonetheless.

From the way the Force moved around him, he'd initially thought that it was simply flowing through him. Upon further inspection, it appeared that it wasn't just flowing through him; it was moving around, wrapping around the other younglings through their connection in the Force. It wasn't any technique he was aware of, or any sort of Force connection technique as far as he could recall. Rather it was…some form of Force Empathy, or perhaps Force Bond. It wasn't something Naruto was doing consciously, but rather the simplest desires of the Force flowing through him, connecting him to world around him.

Feeling the Force brush against him, he curiously allowed it to continue, feeling no danger in doing so. The Force washed over him like a brush of air, offering him the opportunity to delve deeper into the mind and soul of Naruto Uzumaki. Despite the clear invitation, he decided against it, feeling that it would be wrong to take advantage of his more advanced control and senses to follow the connection back to Naruto. He was 'connected' to the everyone in the room, but it was clear that there was nothing intentionally invasive about it; keeping only to the Force around him and doing its best to avoid his emotions, mind, and anything that he didn't want him to know about.

Reaching out, he followed the senses that Naruto had to the other children. None of them even seemed aware of his presence in the Force yet, still having not developed their senses to the point where they'd notice him. To those who he'd become closer to though, something was a bit different. Rather than simply brushing against them, it flowed completely through them, wrapped around them and almost appeared to be…protecting them.

But from what?

"Master Ali-Alann, may I have a moment?"

Coming out of his meditation, he glanced towards the person who'd addressed him. "Hm? I – Master Qui-Gon?"

"Please, a moment of your time is all I need. We've –" He paused, glancing to the younglings. "We've caught wind of something, and need your assistance if you'd be willing to assist us."

"I – of course." Standing up, he glanced back to the group. Biting his lip, he paused as the feeling he'd just experienced played back in his mind again. In that moment, he made a split second choice before leaving. "Naruto's in charge while I'm gone. Finish your meditation, and wait for my return."

Following after Qui-gon, all the younglings slowly brought themselves out of meditation. One such youngling, poor Naruto, was staring at where Ali-Alann had left with wide eyes. "…what?"

x-=-x

The masters stood silently, attempting to contemplate what to do. They were being attacked, that much they knew. From the various bits of sabotage and subterfuge that they'd currently uncovered, they could tell that someone was wreaking havoc from somewhere within the Jedi Temple itself.

However, they were not meant to be soldiers; they were scholars, journeymen, diplomats, and envoys of peace. When attacked, they were forced to take caution and gather together in a place where they could determine what to do. Despite the fact that their duties weren't as soldiers, several of them _had _fought in the Stark Hyperspace War. As such, when they finally had all congregated in the central building those who'd been through that incident looked to one another with a knowing look.

They were being herded.

They couldn't stop it, but that simply made their situation more urgent, and dire. It made them anxious, worried, and concerned. They had been in areas where they could better control their situation from spilling over to the populace. Here though, they couldn't keep it from spilling over to the younglings, endangering them and causing them to be put near harm's way. They'd called several masters to try to get the younglings to a safer place, but so far all had followed security procedures and arrived in the central tower. All that was left was one group, and that left them as the most likely to be attacked should they not make it to the central tower before whoever it was that was attacking the tower.

Several of the masters were meditating silently, trying to look into the future to see if they could find something that might be able to help them stop this menace from happening. As it was, the dark side of the Force clouded their vision and kept them from finding a solution through the Force.

Master Yoda himself sat amongst them, eyes closed in concentration as he reached out through the Force. While he too had sought out what to do in the future through the Force, he now sought out how to help those around him now. There was a definite turmoil in the Force as waves of emotions rolled off each of the masters around him. Some had more control of their emotions than others, but all were worried and struggling to figure out what their next move was.

Master Yoda had already determined several people who were likely suspects who'd want to attack the Jedi Temple, but the keep factor was the burst of dark side energy shortly before the bomb meant to kill him had gone off. It was more than simply dark side energy to him though; it was familiar, though faded by the time spent apart. Yoda had gotten to know a great many padawans and eventually many Jedi Knights in his time, but even he didn't remember each and every feeling that they left in the Force.

Humming softly, he searched this time for the final group of younglings still making their way to where they were. As he searched for them though, he was startled to realize that they were still in their meditation hall. He'd have expected Ali-Alann to have already made his way with the children as per procedures. It appeared that instead he was speaking with Master Qui-gon, speaking about…something. Likely Qui-gon's investigation had brought up something, and he needed Ali-Alann's services once he had finished his duties.

Searching further, he paused as he felt the aura of the younglings. Each was filled with such emotion and turmoil, but one seemed to stand out with the amount of confusion and trepidation rolling off of him. Yet that person also stood with an extremely defensive aura wrapped around his fellow younglings. Gently and calmly reaching out to them, he noticed that the youngling didn't notice his presence in the Force at all.

Prodding further, he chuckled softly as recognized the feeling as Naruto's presence in the Force. The boy was so lost and uncertain, but he stood strong and calm as a youngling could be for not knowing what was going on in the world around him. It pleased him to know that they'd made a good decision with him; at least, that's how it seemed at the moment.

As he was about to draw back his presence, he noticed something shifting. Curious, he lingered just a second longer to see what was going on. Frowning, he wondered who the other youngling was who was addressing them.

"Master?"

Yoda's eyes opened, and it was at this point that he felt the deepening frown on his face. Glancing up to Master Plo Koon, he realized that he was feeling rather anxious and Plo Koon – ever an observant person – had noticed the change in his demeanor. "A disturbance, I feel. With the younglings, attempting to lead them astray, they are. Hm…"

"Do you believe that we need to send someone to meet them?" Plo Koon asked, his face slightly scrunched up in thought. While he knew that there were people who would attack younglings, the idea of it was revolting, and caused him a great deal of discomfort.

"…perhaps." Yoda admitted, sighing heavily. "Already there, two Jedi are. Aware of the danger, they may not be. Much care must be taken, if protecting the younglings, they'll be."

x-=-x

"Oi! Who the heck do you think you are?"

"My name's Bruck Chun. Ali-Alann sent me to take you to the repulsorlift so we can get you all to safety."

Naruto crossed his arms, standing defiantly in front of the boy with a scowl on his face. "Master Ali-Alann said to stay right here and we're gonna stay right here till he's back!"

Bruck bit back the urge to smack his forehead at the resilience of Naruto. When his master, Xanatos, had told him that leading the younglings off to the repulsorlift would be easy, he'd figured that it would be. However, while most of the younglings knew him or at least had seen him, there was one who was new, and stood defiantly facing him down as though it were a contest for superiority over the group. And, in its own way, it was. If Bruck was able to get them to follow, they'd trap the younglings in the repulsorlift which would force at least a few of the master's attention away from his master so that they could complete their task. However if this new boy won, then he'd have failed his mission, and there was a possibility that he'd be caught.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to look as complacent and calm as possible. "Look, Ali-Alann sent me. You can trust me, okay?"

Naruto shook his head, stomping his foot on the floor several times. "No! Ali-Alann left me in charge and told me to wait, and so we're gonna wait!"

"Nawuto, maybe we thould go with Bwuck." Sheeka said softly, looking between the two. She felt something off when Bruck came in, and was worried about Master Ali-Alann. If he sent Bruck to fetch them, then whatever the other master had come to talk to him about might have kept him from leaving to come back for them.

Jax and Yasuo looked between the two with confused looks, both still very confused as to what was going on. Neither of them could understand why Bruck was here, but they knew him from around the Temple and had figured he was a good guy. Despite that, Naruto was right; he was in charge, and he was following what Ali-Alann had told him to do. It was still an odd occurrence for them to see, but if Naruto was going to listen to him than something important must've happened.

Bruck's face scrunched up a bit in exasperation. This was _not_ the way things should have gone. Younglings rarely seemed to question things when masters came around to fetch them, but when he tried it was apparently like pulling teeth with Rancor nails. Shaking his head, he considered his options carefully. Thankfully, another one of the younglings was on his side as well.

"Naruto? Why are you listening to Ali-Alann? Don't you always run away during meditation?" One of the other younglings asked, tilting their head curiously. Obviously they'd all noticed the change in his behavior, and were curious to know what had changed.

Putting his arms behind his head, he snorted loudly at the comment. "Yeah, but meditation is so _boring._ I like being up and doing things, not sitting still like a lump on a log."

"But, you do now." Another youngling interjected, having just seen him sitting peacefully next to them.

Naruto nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, and now that I know _why_ we meditate, it's the coolest thing ever! But I can't just sit down and do it. That's why Master Qui-gon's been showing me how to do alchaka. It's really cool, but I'm really tired after it's over so I just kinda fall over and can't do anything but sit still." Remembering the times he'd simply collapsed in front of the other younglings, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But uh, you guys have already seen that part."

Several of them nodded, acknowledging that they had indeed seen him collapse after arriving later into their mediation. It seemed a bit silly to think that Ali-Alann had simply let Naruto leave as of late for no reason they could think of. Then again, Naruto was the only person they knew of who would be willing to put themselves through a 'stupid' type of training that left them falling over by the end.

For Bruck though, his words had a completely different meaning behind them. _'He's tired.'_ Bruck thought, thinking as swiftly as he could. _'Maybe if…I might be able to make that work to my advantage.'_

Bruck was not a master of the Force. His skill was more than adequate for performing a variety of skills, and he'd recently been taught a couple tricks utilizing those with an application of the dark side. While most Jedi weren't all that susceptible to things such as the Mind Trick, if Naruto was tired as well, it might be possible. And while it might've been a bad decision to do…unless…

Spreading out his connection in the Force, he noted the emotion he wanted in a few of them and could barely keep the smirk from his face. Channelling his frustration that Naruto had so _kindly_ helped him build up, he focused on amplifying the emotions of his choice; confusion and fear. He wasn't very good at being subtle, so he just amplified it as much as possible as quickly as possible. The results were instantaneous, but not in the way that he expected.

Despite having focused it on everyone, Naruto became quite visibly ridged. Almost immediately when that happened, every bit of the Force Bruck was using was redirected at Naruto. Eyes widening in shock, Bruck tried to redirect it back towards the other younglings, only to find that any and all emotions he'd been feeling from them before were being blocked out. Biting his lip, he tried to push harder, gathering the dark side to increase his power. The younglings eyes widened as they too felt the increased emotions, flinching and turning around wildly as they tried to understand what was going on. Before they could think too much on it the Force was blocked from them once more.

Bruck balked slightly as he was cut off from using his abilities on the younglings. Gritting his teeth, it didn't take long to figure out why it had been cut off again. No longer content to let this continue, he focused all of his frustration and anger at Naruto, doing all that he could to bring Naruto to his knees.

Naruto actually lasted a little bit, trying to ignore the feeling and focus instead on defending his fellow younglings. Within seconds though, he was gripping his head and screaming at the top of his lungs as he fell to his knees. Bruck hadn't intended for this reaction, but pushed on, trying to force Naruto's defense off of the other younglings.

"No! No don't do it! Go to sleep! Go back to sleep!"

The random screaming was quite disturbing, and all of the younglings feel back from Naruto in fear. Bruck, feeling an opening in Naruto's defenses, pressed his advantage on manipulating the younglings fears. Utilizing Force Fear, he amplified their fear of Naruto and coaxed them to follow him.

"Look, there's no time, we have to go now!" Bruck shouted, getting more than a few of them to snap their heads towards him. "There's someone bad coming, and we have to go now! Come on, follow me."

Motioning them to follow him, this time they all listened to him and followed his directions towards the repulsorlift. Glancing back, he rolled his eyes upon seeing that some of them had decided to stick around. _'Whatever. I don't need to herd all of them, just enough to get the other Masters attention. These should be more than enough.'_

Smirking, he left them behind as he made his way out of the room, hardly able to believe that his impromptu plan had worked out.

x-=-x

"Naruto? Naruto!"

_He stood in a dark, slum-like alleyway, an ice-like chill washing through the path. Noticing a growl that reverberated in his direction, he winced and covered his ears. Before he could move, a torrent of water came barreling down violently towards him, dragging him in the undertow._

"Nawuto? Nawuto are you okay?"

_There was no air. He couldn't breathe, choked down by the torrent of water dragging him down. Before he could pass out into blissful unconsciousness, he felt something grabbed hold of him, dragging the water around him. _

"Naruto, now is not the time for this."

_With the water no longer trying to crush him, he found himself giving into a coughing fit. Trying to take a breath, it came out as a choked scream when he found himself face to face with–_

"Oi mynock head, what's wrong with you?"

Naruto's eyes opened slowly, feeling completely numb all throughout his body. His eyes flickered to those standing over him. His three friends were hovering over him with a concerned look in their eyes, even the normally stoic Yasuo was biting his lip in concern. Feeling that he was missing something, he slowly rolled over to see who else was with them. Feeling every muscle in his body scream at him with each motion, he very slowly blinked his eyes as he weakly spoke to the final person hovering over him.

"Au…rra?"

"Yes Naruto, me." Aurra said, sighing softly before pressing a hand to his head. "How are you feeling? I could hear you screaming from all the way down the hall."

"…Bruck…"

Not expecting that as an answer, Aurra glanced to the other three. "Um, excuse me?"

"What about Bwuck Chun?" Sheeka asked, glancing to where Bruck had left.

Naruto whined softly, his eyes unfocused and distant. Aurra didn't have to be Force sensitive to know that something had happened. Unfortunately for Jax, he was standing just a bit to close and was the one who's tunic was yanked towards her as she spoke with a hiss in her voice. "Explain what happened. _Now_."

"Naruto was arguing with Bruck Chun when he suddenly started screaming. Apparently there's a bad Jedi running around, and they did something to Naruto." Jax said quickly, not wanting to further anger Aurra. "We were going to drag him somewhere safe but he was rolling around and then you ran over. Please…put me down."

Aurra snorted at that, shaking her head as she tried to make sense of what he'd said. Sheeka looked down at Naruto, not sure if they should move him or keep him still now that they were awake. Yasuo slowly glanced away, looking off to where the other younglings had gone. "Um…"

"You better have something good to say." Aurra hissed, rubbing her forehead as she sat next to Naruto. There was clearly something wrong with Naruto, and she couldn't figure it out. She was…worried. It made her uncomfortable to think there was someone she was so worried about that she'd become angry upon seeing her friend in trouble.

"Well, Ali-Alann told us all to stay here and wait for him, but Bruck got everyone to follow him." Yasuo said slowly, shaking his head after a moment. "I don't know why though. We haven't seen any bad Jedi yet…"

Aurra's eyes widened slightly at that comment, mind racing as she thought about what that meant. Snapping her head up to Yasuo, the boy quickly stepped back to stay out of her reach. "Bad Jedi?"

"Yeah. We couldn't see them, but…we could feel it. The dark side." Yasuo closed his eyes, face scrunched up in something akin to disgust. "It was scary, so scary. And then it just stopped, and then started, and then stopped." He shook his head. "The dark side is weird."

"I think it was Nawuto." Sheeka said softly, getting their attention once more. "Nawuto was doing thomething with the Fowce before Bwuck showed up. Whenever we fewt bad, Nawuto got weally tense and…stopped it? I think?"

"Sounds like Naruto." Jax said, nodding with a grin. "He's our friend! He wouldn't let anything bad happen to us…" His grin flinched, falling as he looked at Naruto. "…we didn't do so good back did we."

Naruto, still very much aware of what was going on gave a weak thumbs up. His face was still strained, trying to say something but the drain on his body from his alchaka training and from trying to fight against the dark side of the Force for all the younglings. Focusing as much as he could, the word came out with a great deal of strain. It was just one word, but he silently hopped that it would be enough for them to get what he wanted. "…Bruck…"

"What about Bruck?" Jax asked, sitting next to Naruto. "You keep saying his name."

"Who in the world is Bruck?" Aurra asked, the name not ringing any bells for her.

"He's an older youngling who Ali-Alann sent to take us to the lift so we could go towards the main building." Jax replied casually, the words sounding strange to him as he said them this time. "…wait. Who's Qui-gon's padawan?"

"Obi-wan." Aurra said without hesitation, knowing all too well who he was, the boy having occasionally suffered with her and Naruto during their alchaka training.

Jax glanced to Yasuo, the shorter boy seeming to understand what he'd thought of. "Why would Ali-Alann send Bruck if Qui-gon could have just sent Obi-wan then?"

The room was silent, everyone in the room considering the question worriedly. That thought hadn't occurred to the younglings just a moment earlier, they'd just assumed that if Ali-Alann had needed help he'd send a passing padawan to get them. They'd forgotten due to Bruck's hurried tone of voice that Qui-gon had a padawan that the two could have sent. None of them considered that Obi-wan had been sent to some other place to perform some other task, instead focusing on Bruck.

"You guys said that there was a bad Jedi running around, right." Aurra finally said, breaking the silence. Getting a nod from the three of them, she slowly glanced to where she knew the repulsorlifts were. "And…who told you that?"

"Bruck."

Aurra nodded, remembering that they'd mentioned that. "I see. And when did you feel the dark side?"

"Um…" Jax muttered, scratching his head in thought. "A little bit ago."

Rolling her eyes, she groaned at his vague answer. "I meant did you feel it before Bruck showed up or after?"

"After." Yasuo said quickly, slowly catching on to what she was getting at. Something seemed off about Bruck's appearance, thought it was only now that it was clicking in their minds that something was _incredibly _off about his presence.

Looking down to Naruto, Naruto's eyes seemed convey approval with their words. Naruto had been at the epicenter of the dark side's focus, and when someone is focusing that much dark energy at you it becomes quite difficult to not notice where it's coming from. Even with Naruto's lack of perception, he'd been able to tell where the malicious intent was coming from.

"And what did you feel when the dark side came through? I mean, we're supposed to be in control of our emotions, but we're not droids so we still feel things." Aurra asked, looking between all of them.

Each of them considered the question, looking between each other ask though asking to confirm what the others had felt. After a couple of seconds Jax spoke first. "Fear."

"Confusion."

"Wike we weren't safe."

Aurra pinched the bridge of her nose, piecing together what they'd felt. "So everything that would make you want to leave."

"…the others…" Naruto rasped out, a wild look in his eyes as he struggled to get up.

All of them stood up, heads snapping towards the repulsorlift. Bruck had gotten them to leave the meditation chamber and head towards the repulsorlift with him. If he was the one who was causing them to feel those emotions then whatever was over there was something bad. Aurra was the only one who had developed a conscious connection with the Force that she could use to feel things out. While underdeveloped, it was enough to allow her to sense something wrong in that direction.

"…okay then." Aurra said, nodding to herself. Reaching down, she ignored Naruto's weak protests as she dragged him onto her back. Shifting him so that he wouldn't fall off, she stood up with a resolute look on her face. "Let's get them to come back before Bruck does something stupid."

"What about Ali-Alann? He won't know where we went if we don't tell him." Jax said helpfully, not wanting them to get in trouble just because they weren't still in the meditation chamber.

Aurra considered it before nodding to him. "Thank you for volunteering. Go tell him where we're going, and we'll meet up with him when he catches up. Go. Go. Go!"

Jumping at her sudden yelling, Jax raced off to where he'd last seen Ali-Alann head off to. Yasuo and Sheeka glanced to Aurra, waiting to see if she'd tell them to do anything. Instead she seemed to ignore them, heading as quickly as she could with Naruto weighing her down, towards the repulsorlift. Taking that as a silent 'follow me', the two of them followed after her quickly.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to do something good and help their friends. They didn't know what all they could possibly do to help stop someone who was using the dark side of the Force, since that wasn't something that was in the normal Jedi curriculum, but they'd most certainly try and do their best. In this instance, their best wasn't the wisest choice, but the choices they made would help shape their future.

* * *

><p>AN:I honestly thought about skipping the Xanatos arc, but then I realized there's something about Xanatos that I really like and wanted to use to help develop Naruto. If you know about Xanatos, then you might be able to figure it out.<p>

Also, I encourage any of you who read my stories and even my AN's to question me. If you think I made a mistake, if you think I'm doing something wrong, if you think that I'm super confusing about an issue, continue to let me know. I _will_ answer you concerns be it in the next chapter or as soon as I can (though some things will be kept secret of course).

Anyways, until next time, thanks for reading and you'll see more From Darkness, fairly soon.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: See? I told you I wouldn't post every two days...though I didn't expect to finish this today either. I guess stress typing is a great reliever and that I type much faster than I realized when stressed. Welp, thank finals for making me type at the speed of Mach Rock Lee, because you get to enjoy yet another chapter of **From Darkness**.

Enjoy.

* * *

><p><em>Disrupt + Demoralize + Distraction = Devastation.<em>

Xanatos chuckled as he reemerged from the water tanks and looked around. It was such a simple method to take care of nuisances and nuances as well as take down things that might otherwise be considered unconquerable. So far, he was chuckling at the fact that for being so very simple it was already working on a wide scale. The entire temple was in disarray and it soon would be further in chaos.

Originally he hadn't planned on doing what he was planning. The younglings were meant to go to the repulsorlift with Ali-Alann, and would _then_ be trapped there. With the moment where Ali-Alann stepped away, Bruck had seen an opportunity and upon seizing it he'd found himself pleased with his 'padawan's' progress. He didn't believe him to follow through properly, but by placing him there he could trigger events at his leisure.

Bruck had then asked what he wanted him to do, which had caused him to think about it. Had it been Ali-Alann, he'd have had full control over where they went, but now _he_ had control over where they were meant to go, he could send them anywhere in the temple. It also meant that due to their proximity to Jinn he would make his way over to help which would give him a bit more time to in letting the furnaces get closer to the Healing Crystals of Fire to trigger the devastating explosion that would bring down the temple and leaving any remaining Jedi on their knees.

Taking his rebreather off, he sloshed through the water as he dragged out the young Mon Calamari who'd become such a thorn in his side. The young girl flailed helplessly against her bonds as she shouted in fear now that the man could hear her shouts. "Let me go! I'm not going to just –"

"Shut up." Xanatos said coldly, leveling a glare at her. "If it weren't for the fact I need you, I'd have cut you down where you swam."

The young Calamari swallowed heavily, not liking that idea in the slightest. Seeing the way he was staring off into the distance, she hesitantly spoke up again. "What-what do you need me for?"

"…leverage." Xanatos said slowly, eyes unfocused as he thought about how to go about this. Slowly, the corners of his mouth curled upwards into a smirk. "And I know just how to do it."

Wincing, the young girl stared up with an extremely worried look in her eyes. Whatever was planned would not end well for her, and she squirmed more in her bonds in an attempt to free herself. It was in vain though, as he gripped her by the back of her bonds and lifted her slightly out of the water.

"Alright then, let's get to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, shall we?" He asked rhetorically, dragging her towards said room. Tugging on his comlink, he turned it to the Qui-gon's channel.

It would be glorious revenge soon enough. Soon, very soon…

x-=-x

Bruck smirked as the younglings walked onto the repulsorlift, fiddling with the controls just enough while they weren't paying attention so that they wouldn't realize that their destination wasn't precisely where they thought, as well as locked in. Flipping the final switch, he glanced to the small group with as kind a smile as he could make. "Alright everyone hold tight, I'm going to send you ahead and when you get there I'll go get Master Ali-Alann. Don't worry, once he knows you're all safe he'll meet up with you all at the central tower."

"You aren't coming with us?" One of the younglings asked, looking worriedly to Bruck. After all the fear and confusion that he'd fed them they were relying heavily on his presence to soothe them.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, and it made him chuckle softly. "No, I'm going to make sure that you all get off safely, and that no one stops you from getting there. It'd be really bad if you were sent there only to have some dastardly bad Jedi stop you from getting there."

The younglings all looked to one another and consented that it wasn't something that they wanted to have happen at all. Getting called back by someone who they didn't know who didn't have their best interests in mind wasn't what any of them had in mind.

"Alright now," Bruck pushed the final button, watching as it lifted into the air and began moving towards their final destination. As soon as they'd moved away far enough, his smile shifted into a smirk. Noting the small 'additions' to the underside that would normally be missed by a casual observer, "Take care~"

Turning around, he began making his way back to the hallway. He had only so much time before the Jedi caught up and took him to Temple Security, and he wasn't going to disappoint his master. The Room of a Thousand Fountains wasn't far off, so it would be just a short walk to make sure that he got there to assist his master in finalizing his plans.

Before he could even leave the room, the doors opened to reveal that he had company. Flinching at the sight, he quickly relaxed when he realized that it wasn't any of the masters, or even a Jedi knight. It was just a couple of the kids who'd fallen behind, and another youngling who was carrying the nuisance Naruto on her back. Adopting a confused and more relaxed pose, he glanced to where the younglings had been sent and then back to them. "Oh great, I didn't realize we'd left you behind. You just missed it, I just sent the younglings off to the central tower. If you want we can wait and send you on the next one."

"That's okay, we'll just call them back and have them join the first group. Better to keep them together than separated." The white skinned youngling said, easing Naruto off her back as he shakily stood up. She walked over to the keypad, letting the boy lean on his fellow younglings as she tried to call the repulsorlift back.

Bruck inwardly smiled at the sight of the boy in such a state of exhaustion. He'd been so troublesome, it was nice to see that his technique had managed to render him inert. He inwardly patted his back about the accomplishment, deciding to later name the technique something pertinent to it usage. Force Disorient? Well, perhaps not disorient, he looked more tired than disoriented. Force Drain, or maybe Exhaustion? Either or worked, but he'd consider it later.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Bruck glanced back to her, seeing her face scrunched up in confusion. "Hm? What's up?"

"This is wrong." She stated plainly, jabbing her finger at the screen. "The repulsorlift isn't responding to my command, and it's heading in the wrong direction." Turning to Bruck, she jabbed his chest roughly. "What. Did. You. Do?"

That wasn't what he'd expected. For her age and from what he knew of the curriculum, he was certain that no one besides one of the upper ranked Jedi would recognize the issue with the repulsorlift beyond the fact that the recall switch wasn't calling it back. "What are you talking about?"

"Why is it heading towards the Temple Treasury? There's no reason for it to go that way, so what gives?"

Taking a deep breath, he drew in her anger through the Force and channeled it back towards her. "How am I supposed to know? I was given a set of coordinates to send them to from Master Ali-Alann and that's where they led. Are you telling me he gave me the wrong coordinates to send them to?"

"No, I'm saying you messed up and sent them in the wrong direction!" Her anger was building, making him wince slightly. He hadn't expected her to get fiercer when he'd redirected her anger at her, but it appeared that her anger was building even higher than his own.

The difference though was that he was in control, not her. "Alright then, call them back. I know there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, they just updated the control paneling and set it so that it wouldn't malfunction like when Master Tahl got trapped there a while back."

Her scowl deepened, gritting her teeth as though she was looking for some reason to start a fight. Then again, he had antagonized her a bit. He noticed something going on with her arm and followed it down, raising an eyebrow when he realized she was fingering the hilt of one of the training sabers. He'd thought that he'd taken all of those and hid them away. Apparently she'd hidden one away for whatever reason. That wasn't the best thing, but then a training saber wasn't like his lightsaber which was very real, and very dangerous.

Bruck huffed softly gently pushing her off him. "Look, you can yell at me all you want, or you can wait for the next one without yelling at –"

"We were supposed to stay in the meditation room." One of the younglings, the other boy, said with a hint of mistrust in his voice.

Glancing back at him, Bruck exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Not from what Ali-Alann told me. He told me to get you to those coordinates. I just did what I was told."

"Well you were told wwong." The girl, a Rodian, replied quickly. Pointing to the control panel, her eyes turned to a glare. "If you'd been towd wight, why'd it go the wwong way?"

Bruck shrugged, trying to casually play it off. "I don't know, I just input the coordinates and sent it off." Before he could say more, his eyes widened as the snap-hiss of a lightsaber activated under his chin. Glancing down to her shorter form, the wide eye look become one of curious confusion. "Really?"

"Turn it around." She hissed, pointing to the control panel. "Turn it around _now_. You made this mess. Fix it. _Now._"

Bruck glanced down at the training saber, groaning audibly. "Alright, fine. I'll –"

Not bothering to finish his sentence, he activated his own red lightsaber and brought it up in an attempt to take off her arm while she was distracted. Unfortunately she chose that moment to step back, and all he hit was the blade of the training saber sending it over her head but not disarming her. Her eyes widened by the attack, and he took advantage to whip around to kick her.

She turned her body slightly, getting it to only graze her. It wasn't that much of a dodge as it still landed solidly enough to knock her back roughly. Gritting her teeth, she assumed a formal shii-cho stance in an attempt to defend herself. However, his age, size, experience, and weight threw her off immediately as his saber blow knocked back. Drawing on the dark side, he empowered himself to move even faster and strike even stronger as he pressed the advantage.

Shii-cho had many openings, as it wasn't designed for saber dueling. It was meant to fight at a distance, or against many opponents to help force them to stumble over each other. Against a single opponent like how Bruck currently was situated, he was more than capable of pushing her back. If anything, he could just kill her now and be done with it. His more fluid spinning motions utilizing Form IV meant that he could press his advantage and within seconds had her pressed against the wall.

"That was really unnecessary." Knocking her saber from her hand, he shook his head with a snort. He had to think for a moment before acting. What was the best course of action here? Unlike her, his lightsaber had a very real consequence should he decide to end her now. Or, he could try to salvage his reputation between them to try to make them trust him by putting his saber away.

Slowly taking a step back, he deactivated his lightsaber and shook his head. "Was it worth it?"

She stared at him, anger still radiating from her in the Force. He could tell that she wanted quite badly to pick up her saber and strike him. It wouldn't do anything to him as it was just a training saber, but it would let her vent the anger in a healthy fashion. Or perhaps, a way that would allow him to gain further leverage over her in the eyes of the younglings.

"Hit him again!"

At least, everyone except Naruto it seemed.

Bruck turned to Naruto with a scowl. "Really? Are you so stupid as to tell her to attack me again? She's nowhere near skilled enough, and if I'd wanted I could've –" Bruck wasn't able to finish his sentence as his arm was suddenly struck and the stinging sensation of the training saber tingled up and down the arm. "What in the world!"

"Don't you dare insult Naruto." She hissed quietly, the saber pointed at his face. Her eyes were clouded over, the dark side of the Force drawn into her rapidly as her anger towards him increased. "Right now, you had no place to speak of being _stupid_ slimeball."

Drawing on the dark side himself beneath his Force Cloak, he decided that it wasn't worth it to keep her alive. If she was so adamant to stop him, he'd stop her. The fact that the idea of killing her didn't repulse him never crossed his mind as he instead activated his saber and brought it around to cut through her.

Before he could strike her, she'd darted down and slid under his guard and rolled away. Using the slice as a way to spin around on his heels, he collided with her saber roughly, looking to break down her defenses a quickly as possible to end it quickly.

The moment the blades collided, he realized something was wrong. Instead of buckling under his strike, he found her forming a reasonably strong defense, not only holding him back, but pushing him back enough to keep him from being able to get close to her. Frowning, he increased his speed and spun the blade in his hands, striking out at her. His next strike was once more intercepted and forcefully pushed away, making his eyes widened as he stepped back.

Was this the power of the dark side? Allowing even those who were underpowered, to overpower their opponents? It didn't make sense! She was shorter, weaker, and he was more skilled with a better weapon. This was ridiculous!

The sabers became a blur of motion, with emotions rising to boiling point on both sides as each tried to push the other back. Bruck, though more skilled in calling the dark side, was also trying to keep himself cloaked so that he wouldn't draw attention. Meanwhile Aurra had no such qualms, delving into the dark side enough to match Bruck and keep him pushed back. The holes she had moments before were still there, but each time he attempted to take advantage of them she shifted enough to deflect the blow and strike out at any one of the points of contact; the basic points a shii-cho user was taught to strike to disarm their opponents, in a quite literal sense in many cases.

The spinning motions Bruck used though had another advantage that Aurra didn't have. The motion built up momentum, which increased how much force was behind each of his strikes. Even with the application of the dark side to her strength, she was quickly losing ground as his blows and natural strength increased with the dark side forced her back. She was fighting valiantly, but Bruck's smirk grew wider with each step back she took.

"He really wasn't worth it was he?" Bruck said with a smirk, slamming his saber against hers to engage a saber-lock. "For all that bravado and all the noise he made, all you've ended up doing is losing to someone superior to you in every way. How does that make you feel?"

Hissing at him, Aurra tried with as much energy as she could to push back. The dark side was strong, but despite how much she felt she needed it at this moment, the Jedi part of her knew better and was clinging to her humanity and desire to stay in the light. While Bruck was panting slightly, her forehead had a visible sheen of sweat, with small droplets rolling down her cheeks. If someone were to pick on her, someone might go as far to say that she was more than just sweating, but also crying.

Bruck didn't care to notice that though. Taunting her was more for his pleasure than to drop her guard at this point. Looking her in the eye, she could see the faint sulfuric coloring around the edges of his eyes, staring at her victoriously. Before she could do anything more to push him off, he slammed his knee into her side and shoved her back into the wall. This time he was certain that he had her, and swung his saber towards her, aiming for her neck to end it quickly.

"Aurra!"

Bruck couldn't have seen it coming with his back to the group. While the blow managed to strike Aurra's right shoulder, it was but a glancing blow due to the sudden burst of energy that launched him back away from her into the control panel. Wincing at the feeling of metal slamming into his back, he shook himself off and glanced up to see what had happened.

Naruto and Sheeka stared in confusion at Yasuo, who had let go of Naruto for a second to channel the Force to shove Bruck away from Aurra. It had taken a moment for him to gather enough Force energy, especially considering how younglings hadn't been taught to use the Force for such things. Through pure, unfiltered instinct, he'd somehow thrown the larger boy back against the wall. Both of their jaws dropped slightly, not sure what to make of it while Yasuo tried to focus on gathering more of the Force in case Bruck tried anything again.

Unlike before though, this time Bruck could see them all too clearly. And more importantly he could see behind them as well. Cursing under his breath, he pushed himself into the repulsorlift's opening and threw himself down into the darkness.

All of their eyes blinked as they watched him dive down into the repulsorlift, knowing that there was no lift to catch him. Glancing between where Bruck went and Aurra was writhing silently in pain, they decided Aurra was the one they should be focused on; especially with the wound on her shoulder. Yasuo was quicker, not weighed down by the exhausted Naruto. Naruto's eyes were filled with worry as he looked at the wound on her shoulder. It was just a glancing blow, but the fact that he could see something was wrong in her clothing made him concerned.

"Sorry." Naruto said softly, trying to move next to her. Sheeka caught his drift, and tried to help him sit next to her. Before he sat down comfortably, she lost her grip on him and he ended up falling with his head rather sharply striking the wall behind him. "...owie…"

"…you're an idiot." Aurra said softly through gritted teeth, pulling her sleeve down a bit to try to cover up the wound a bit more. She could tell that he was worried and even though it didn't make sense to try to hide it she felt he deserved it after seeing all that. She'd lost herself to the dark side for a bit, and the air still lingered with the feeling in the air. It was pungent, distasteful, and felt like some sort of grime had washed over her skin. "I should be sorry."

"Nuh-uh." Naruto said softly, getting a couple of looks. "You weren't doing anything bad. Bruck was though, there was something bad about him."

Aurra was silent, trying to avoid touching her eyes to keep from agitating the moisture on her face. With everything that happened, she was now very worried about her chances as a padawan. There were silent horror stories that were passed down through the different generations of younglings, most telling about how quickly younglings were thrown out of the order because of even the most brief touches with the dark side of the Force. And she'd not just touched on that part of the Force, she'd delved into it, embraced it, and used it to fight Bruck. With that many strikes against her, she was sure that her time as a Jedi was over and done for.

"Aurra? Naruto?"

Both of them turned to look as a new voice approached them. They both knew who it was because of the instinctive flinch they both had upon hearing the voice. "Master Kuro?"

An'ya looked between the two, then to the other two younglings curiously. "What's going on here?"

Naruto glanced to Yasuo and Keesha, pleading with them to help explain silently. They both seemed to either ignore it, or were preoccupied by the appearance of a Master who had suddenly shown up. Not getting their attention, Naruto whined softly.

Thankfully, Aurra had just enough presence of mind to speak a few words for the exhausted Naruto. "Bruck Chun. Jumped down the shaft."

Her eyes drifted from Aurra to the shaft and back again, and she shook her head. Walking forward purposefully, she knelt down next to Aurra and pressed her hand around her shoulder wound. Everyone watched as a very light glow began encompassing her hand.

Everyone else was focused more on the light, but had they connected to the Force they'd have felt it, calmly and fluidly flowing from her into Aurra. The air around them felt slightly less grimy, the very limited amount of dark energy pushed far away from all of them in favor of a light based healing aura. Within a few seconds, the saber wound had begun healing over enough for the pain to be numbed.

"Can you stand?" An'ya asked, taking a second to check all of them as quickly as possible. They all seemed alright for the most part, if a bit startled and out of it, but alive.

"Um, yeah I can." Aurra said softly, slowly rising to her feet. Her arm still hurt, and her pride was slightly wounded as well, but glancing down to Naruto…she could live with it. Reaching down, she pulled him up to help him lean on her left side. "What about you Naruto? Can you move?"

"What happened to Naruto?" An'ya asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked Naruto over for damage.

"Bwuck did something to him. It made him fall over and stawt shouting." Keesha said softly, remembering what she'd seen of what happened to Naruto.

Naruto glanced between them, eyes unfocused as he tried to remember what had happened. "I did? What did I say?"

Yasuo glanced up to An'ya, noting her staring intently at them as she awaited their answer to his question. "You just kept yelling…go to sleep."

"Go to sleep?" Naruto bit back a yawn, shaking his head to clear out the sudden exhaustion. "But, I'm not sleepy."

"I don't think you were talking about yourself." Yasuo muttered, pressing his face into his palm with an exasperated sigh.

"Hey," Naruto glanced back to the repulsorlift shaft. "Where does that go?"

x-=-x

Bruck was very lucky to have remembered where the repulsorlift went before he threw himself into the shaft. As it was, he was able to safely – for the most part – land in the water deep below the Jedi Temple. He didn't have a rebreather, but even without it he was a fairly good swimmer and made his way towards the shore where he could make his way to regroup with Xanatos.

High up above him, the younglings were holding to one another in terror. Things had seemed to be going fine up until the small explosions went off underneath the repulsorlift went off. Despite everything that could be taught to them at their young age, none of it was enough to help any of them in their current state. They were already afraid and confused from before, but now they were huddled together in complete and absolute terror.

There was a soft voice amongst them who was crying, with a few others soon joining in. As Jedi, very few knew who their parents were, and as such they just cried out for the masters to help them. As it was, the echo of their voices only created a further desperation amongst them.

No one seemed to be coming. They were left alone, lost and adrift in the air shuffling slowly towards their unknown destination. It was hopeless in some of their eyes.

Almost as soon as they began calming down, in another sector the Temple Security shut down power in an attempt to sweep for the mechanical bugs that Xanatos had left scattered throughout the Temple to listen in on conversations. Left adrift, alone, and now enveloped in darkness, the younglings cried out in fear and desperation. It was too much for them, and many of them mentally shut down.

They were locked away for quite a while in their mind. In reality only fifteen minutes passed between when they left and when the lift lurched as it hit something on the wall. Any sounds that had died down picked back up very quickly and the Force around them increased, with several of them with their fear fueling the darkside rather than the light as they tried to do _something_ to keep them afloat.

Before their immature brush with the dark side could bring about damage to their young minds, the door suddenly erupted into a bright light as a lightsaber jutted through it. All of them jumped back, eyes widening as they watched it burn a hole through the door. Was this salvation? Was this the rescue they'd been waiting for?

It took only a moment for the lightsaber to cut through the door, and thankfully the person on the other side had enough sense of mind to use the Force to pull the metal of the door into the room they were in. Seeing the faint glimmer of light shining through, they cautiously scooted forwards, eyeing it with curiosity, confusion, and several in mistrust. What if this was another trap? What if the bad Jedi was going to get them?

When the head of their savior blocked the hole for them to see him, they all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the meditation cloak. It must've been a master who'd heard their cries and come to save them. His face was partly obscured by the cloak and the darkness they were still in, but that didn't matter to their young minds. All that mattered was getting out of there.

"Come younglings. It's time we get you out of there. After all…"

The fading light of the sun caught his face ever so slightly, showing the broken ring scar that marked as Xanatos.

"You'll be safe with me."

x-=-x

Making his way towards the Room of a Thousand Fountains, Bruck cursed under his breath as he had to dart into different rooms to avoid Temple Security. It was getting quite tiresome to dodge and weave through the temple, and it was only made worse when the lights went out. He could just barely see down the hall enough to make his way down, and only through brief warnings from the Force was he even able to dodge the security forces. He silently praised his master for teaching him how to use Force Cloak as it masked his presence from the world around him and kept him from being sensed by any of those who were Force sensitive.

Considering his options, he quickly realized that there was nothing he could do to get back to the Room of a Thousand Fountains even if he'd wanted to. There were people in front of the door, and likely people roaming through the vents searching for him and his master. Closing his eyes, he thought over his options.

The priority he'd made highest was getting back to Xanatos. As it was, he quickly found that the option, though there, was going to be far more difficult than originally anticipated. Humming as he thought of other options, and idea came to mind. A very stupid, very risky idea.

Xanatos was looking for a speeder. It was one of the big things that they were asking for in their ransoming ever since the Jedi had found the speeder that they'd hidden away. He'd almost made the mistake of returning to it until he'd noticed that Temple Security was moving it away to lock it away from them. Only a quick dive under the water had helped him to escape their notice, and he'd had to watch as it had been removed from their grasp.

Now though, he was technically a wild card in the plans of the Jedi. He could contact his master at any point he desired, which meant he could slip into wherever he needed. And while he most certainly did _not_ have any training on the subject, he did know a thing or two about speeders.

Flipping his comlink over to Xanatos's channel, he frowned as all he heard was static. Apparently the master had changed his channel at some point and was no longer open to receiving his messages. That left him alone, to make this choice for better or worse.

Taking a deep breath, he considered the cost verses the benefits. If he were caught that'd be the end of it. No more running around free and able to do as he pleased. He'd likely be sent to Agricultural Corps, or perhaps even just straight to prison for the treachery towards the Jedi. He had no regrets about his choice; they'd held him back, kept him from receiving a master, and kept him from the deepening connection he now had with the Force.

The benefits were clearer. If he got out and got to the speeder, he could wait until his master came back onto his channel, and he could tell him of his success. They'd have a secondary speeder in case the Jedi bugged or tried tracing the speeder that they'd give them should they buckle to the overwhelming odds of their demands. It would make them all but invisible to the Jedi's watch and there would be no way to stop them from simply leaving the planet right under their noses. Not even the Jedi could shut down traffic to the world just to catch the two of them.

Nodding to himself, he made his way out of the Temple to the nearest place he could think of. There was a Senatorial estate where the senators lived when not on their home world. They'd have speeders, but he'd avoid any used by an actual senator in favor of one of the security ones. They'd be less guarded, and simpler in design for him to swipe and pilot.

Grinning to himself, he increased his pace, ambition filling his head with words of glory and praise. Master Xanatos would be pleased by his actions, he knew it. Now all he needed to do was get the speeder, and they'd be home free.

* * *

><p>AN: As promised, here are a couple of answers to questions that people have had.<p>

**carl9390**: Hopefully you one day read this, but until then, I'll just inform everyone else. Yes. I _will_ be up playing the strength of the Jedi. It's kinda hard not to when Naruto is _surrounded_ by Jedi after all. The ninja aspect though, that's where things get both tricky and fun! However, I need to build up some things in order to make that apparent. It wouldn't be a good story if I didn't take the time it deserves to show how things progress after all.

**From The Depths Of Fear**: The Kyuubi has a bit more time before I introduce him. Obviously he's a key character, but for my story, I need a bit more of the building blocks to help show just _why_ he'll be so important, especially for Naruto.

**TheEgoRaptor**: To be honest, I would have used canon characters in Naruto's group...if there were any. There was almost no information on the youngling group with Ali-Alann around this time, so that's why I used the group and him for Naruto here. That being said, the three OC younglings will have their purpose and will fill prominent rolls, but the actual canon people hold precedence, and I will use more of them than OC's. Plus, I'll be giving a few minor canon characters some love by giving them a slightly larger place in my variant of the Star Wars universe.

And~ those were the questions asked! Obviously I'm not going to give full answers to some because it would spoil the surprise, but I've put significant thought into how this will work, so hopefully upon the reveal it'll be surprising, and make for an interesting topic to discuss.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and until next time, this has been another chapter of **From Darkness**. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Another chapter came to me way to quick, so I'm posting it now that I've completed it.

Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

><p>Obi-wan took a deep breath as he snuck into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Things were a bit too quiet for him, and it was grating on his nerves. After all the work and time that Xanatos seemed to have put into this plan, he was mysteriously absent from the room, or anywhere else in the building for that matter. The thought wasn't one comforting to the young padawan, but it gave him a chance to move a bit more freely.<p>

Looking across the way, he tried to determine which of the fountains held his friend Bant Eerin was being trapped in. Xanatos had all but taunted them earlier with his declaration that she would die if he didn't get his speeder fueled and ready at a spaceport with the crystalline vertices in said speeder. The vertex was a very valuable commodity, used as currency in many parts of the universe where credits weren't applicable for the Jedi. It was curious that he knew that they had the vertex in the temple, but judging from the fact that Master Tahl and Bant had discovered that Bruck Chun was working with Xanatos to infiltrate the Temple.

Bruck. His jaw clenched at the thought of the boy and he had to dig his fingers into his hands to calm himself. He wasn't worth it, but the feeling was still there in the back of his mind. He'd heard about what he'd been trying to do while he was gone, pursuing Qui-gon in an attempt to become his padawan after he'd to assist the Young on Melida/Daan. It had been a choice he hadn't regretted, but one that he knew had created a schism between himself and Qui-gon.

Sighing heavily, he calmed himself and reached out in the Force in an attempt to find Bant. He didn't want to leave her there, and he needed something else to focus on so that he wouldn't become lost in his emotions.

It didn't take too long to find her, and once more he hesitated. Easing his way into the room, he hopped onto the ledge and looked into the fountain he'd been directed to. Seeing Bant there, and not seeing anyone else, he gripped his rebreather firmly in his teeth before diving in.

Bant saw him coming and looked up to him with wide eyes. She glanced around, looking for something just out of sight which made him stop. Looking around himself, he frowned upon realizing that there was physically no way for anyone to hide there besides behind the center post and even then he'd been able to clearly see around it before diving in. Apparently she hadn't seen where Xanatos or Bruck had gone after being tied down, which left him concerned once more.

Where had they gone?

Biting down on his rebreather, he swam over and began untying her. It took a moment, as the bonds weren't the easiest to remove, but…they were simple. It was very possible that he hadn't gotten time to get anything better, but even so there was no reason he couldn't have at least taken a couple of moments to add a second set or _something_. It had to be a trap.

Right?

Dragging her to the surface, Bant gasped and coughed upon hitting the surface. She wasn't quite at her limit for holding her breath, but she was definitely feeling the strain after so long under the water. Obi-wan gave her a moment, putting his rebreather away while looking around warily.

It was too quiet.

Pulling out his comlink, he contacted Qui-gon, making sure to keep from revealing that they had rescued Bant. "Master Qui-gon, come in master…"

x-=-x

Qui-gon mulled over what to do next, pacing the floor as his patience began wearing thin. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to relax.

His mind was with Obi-wan who was working on getting Bant Eerin, the youngling who'd been captured by Xanatos after assisting them in retrieving the supplies, materials, and speeder he'd hidden away. They'd not wanted, or anticipated that he'd catch her and it was extremely regrettable that she'd gotten mixed up in such a way. Obi-wan had said that the path was clear, but he still worried.

The bond between himself and Obi-wan was strained since Melida/Daan, but it had been slowly but surely mending. Even so, he had been his padawan once, and he still felt that same twinge of anxiousness at the thought of him being caught or hurt as well.

Next to him, he felt Tahl place her hand on his shoulder. Looking to his blind companion, he smiled gently, her presence helping him regain balance and collect himself. Glancing to her 'seeing-eye droid' 2JTJ, he kept himself from speaking as they had found that Xanatos had somehow slipped a transmitter into her and had likely been monitoring their conversations. Thankfully they knew each other well enough to not need to speak much so that they could operate without needing words.

Shaking his head, he pulled out his comlink worriedly. He couldn't call Obi-wan yet, and he'd told Obi-wan to avoid contacting him so that they wouldn't alert Xanatos to their plans until he'd completed his assignment. Thankfully Master Ali-Alann had a similar build and physique as him which meant that when they placed a recording of himself and Obi-wan arguing Xanatos would also see 'them' there, which helped sell the illusion.

"Master Qui-gon, come in master…"

Pulling his comlink from his belt, he quickly responded to his apprentice. "Yes Obi-wan, what is it.:

"I'm done here, but something's wrong."

Qui-gon frowned, not liking the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there's something missing. It's not here."

Qui-gon's eyes widened, his grip around the comlink tightening. "Are you sure?"

"Positive master."

"Alright. Head back here, we'll talk more when you get –" Qui-gon began, but was cut off by the light of his comlink indicating someone was trying to get in contact with him. Already guessing who it was, his tone shifted slightly. "Get back here. I'll talk soon." Looking down at the light, he slowly pressed the light to shift to the other line. "…hello."

"Master." The voice on the other side was cold, and all too familiar. "It's so good to hear you again. How's your investigation going?"

Qui-gon's eyes closed again, and he could sense that Tahl was worried. She'd once warned him of his arrogance when he'd first decided to take Xanatos as a padawan, and it seemed that his taunts stung more when he considered that. "You won't get away with this Xanatos."

"Oh, I think I will." He replied smoothly, the hidden smirk all too apparent in his voice. "In fact, I almost want to increase my demands at this point, now that things have shifted oh so perfectly."

"What do you mean?" Qui-gon's eyes snapped open at that. There was so much going on, he didn't have knowledge as to everything going on in the temple. Hearing Xanatos chuckle, his scowl deepened. "Xanatos."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm making sure they are well cared for. After all…younglings are the future of any people."

Tahl gasped, head whipping to where she felt Ali-Alann still standing. Recognizing the implication, she hissed under her breath. "You didn't."

"I couldn't help myself. You all just…left them there. It's like you were asking for it to happen. Your lack of forethought on the matter is truly astounding." Xanatos said, all too happy with the results of Bruck's mission.

Qui-gon shook his head. He'd asked for another Master to assist them in taking in the younglings. How had they been left alone? And now they were in the possession of Xanatos. Everything they'd done to stop Xanatos was now lost, and he had the upper hand.

"What do you want Xanatos?" Qui-gon sharply questioned, emotions rising quickly with a hint of an edge to his voice.

"I want what I first asked for first of all. I'm sure it's already being prepped after all." Xanatos said smoothly, and Qui-gon wondered if his former padawan was somehow able to see how frustrated he now was. "But I think I want an extra touch to this delivery. You, disarmed and alone will drive me to the spaceport. If I suspect anything wrong, I'll kill you, and then the younglings."

"And what's stopping us from saying no?" Qui-gon asked, knowing he wouldn't like the answer, but tried to buy himself more time to think of something.

The laugh on the other side of the comlink sent a chill down Qui-gon's spine. "I may not have the supplies you took from me, but I found something better. All it will take is the push of a button, and the younglings will fall to their demise. It was so easy too. Who would have thought you're security would be so…simply evaded. I'm disappointed in you master."

"The Jedi have never had a reason to increase security. With the Sith gone, there's been no attacks on the Jedi – "

"Enough master. I don't need you prattling on about how much higher you see the Jedi. All I need to know, is that you'll be waiting alone, with a speeder, in the designated location. And everything had better be as I've asked. Otherwise…" The threat hung in the air, like an executioner ready to bring down his blade. "I'll contact you in ten minutes. Your response better be what I'm expecting."

Qui-gon groaned as he heard Xanatos disconnect from their line. Tahl contemplated what they could do, wishing desperately that there was more she could do. However, she was still struggling to tune her hearing and connection to the Force to the point where she could do more for the Jedi Order. And with Toojay bugged and following her, any plans they made would be overheard and shut down by them.

Gripping his shoulder, she tried her best to have her eyes look towards him so that he would see the pleading look on her face. She didn't want him to go. It was dangerous, and likely Xanatos planned to kill Qui-gon while on their way to the spaceport. Not only that, but the Council likely wouldn't agree to the terms as they hadn't agreed to them in the first place.

Qui-gon shook his head, placing his hand on hers. She tensed up at the touch, silently understanding that he was going to go through with it. He had no choice. Before they had a chance to help youngling Bant escape, but a group of younglings wasn't going to be nearly as easy. If anything, it would be impossible.

"I'm sorry."

"…you'd better come back." She said firmly, her grip on his shoulder tightening. "And…may the Force be with you."

"And with you Tahl." Qui-gon sighed, turning to walk off. Before he got two steps, the comlink suddenly began emitting static. Taking it from his belt, he tried to hear what was going on.

"How…do that?!"

"All…are possible…Force." A second voice said. The voice was distinctly female, but the static made it hard to make out exactly who it was.

Turning his head to Tahl, the two of them nodded to each other before taking off down the hall. Whoever it was, they had somehow gotten into combat with Xanatos and was holding him off. Perhaps, Force willing, they had a chance to turn things around.

x-=-x

"This way, hurry!"

"In case you didn't notice, I have a Naruto attached to my hip." Aurra said with a grunt of exasperation. Carrying Naruto on her back had been simple, but trying to help him limp seemed to make things far more annoying and drawn out than it needed to be.

"Don't wowwy, we can hewp." Sheeka said, moving to help Naruto as well.

Aurra wanted to say something to tell her off, but after they'd all kept silent about her incident earlier, she bit her tongue and let her help Naruto. Jax and Yasuo were leading the way, peaking around the corners to make sure that Xanatos and Bruck didn't sneak up on them. It was _far _from the best solution, but with the younglings heading to the Treasury and Bruck in the under levels, Master Kuro had told them to see if they could meet up with Ali-Alann on their way to the nearest healer.

Whatever had happened to Naruto was still affecting him and she wanted to make sure that he was examined by someone to ensure that he was alright. Aurra also needed attention due to the saber blow to her shoulder. She'd gotten the beginning part of healing her started, but she'd practiced to heal smaller wounds like those of blasters. With the way a lightsaber strikes, healing it was generally difficult, and there would likely be a scar even after it was done.

Shaking her head, she glanced down at Naruto again. She'd felt so powerless, taking on Bruck, and then she'd lost her cool when he'd taunted her bond with Naruto.

There were very few of the other Jedi who she'd managed to connect with. In many ways, she had become an outcast, a ruffian, and a troublemaker because she couldn't understand or work with most of the other younglings. Then Naruto had come. Naruto was stubborn, bullheaded, and had badgered her until she'd taken him to the training room and gotten into saber combat to vent her frustration on him.

And he'd gotten back up. Each and every time. With that stupid grin on his face, he'd gotten up and shouted about how awesome her techniques had been and fought back with his wild, unfocused forms. She had no idea how to handle it. For the first week she'd tried avoiding him, looking for ways to hide, but even when Naruto didn't find her, she found herself watching to make sure he wasn't doing something stupid again. Eventually she'd taken him under her wing, trying to herd him towards other things like holocrons or other masters, but he'd always made sure to make time for her.

Slowly, she'd grown to like his presence. He'd found a way to practice shii-cho even without the ability to use the training rooms like any the older younglings; she could tell, she'd struggled with it enough to see the differences. When he saw her he brightened and would be much happier.

The idea of someone actually wanting to be with her was…strange. She wasn't used to people wanting to be with her, having pushed the people around her away. And it made her want to keep from losing him, keep people from insulting him, and if needed she'd fight to do so. It was all she knew…it was all she was good at.

Shaking her head, she focused ahead, hearing them call out that they'd found the Masters. It had been a long time since she'd felt so _happy_ to see a Master rather than the other plethora of emotions she might feel. Glancing down at Naruto, he looked up at her with the brightest smile he could with how tired he was. Wincing as she bought her arm around, she gently bopped him on the head.

"Come on, let's get looked at so that we can have fun later, okay?"

"Mhmm!" Naruto said, grinning as he shuffled forward, caught mid-stumble by Aurra and Sheeka. "Can I not fall please?"

"Yeah no kidding." Sheeka playfully poked him. "You'we so heavy, you'll need to stand on youw own feet eventuawy."

"I will, you just watch!" Naruto said, chin held high as he said that. "Someday, I'm gonna be so awesome, and I'll make sure that everyone in the universe knows my name! Believe it!"

"…"

"…"

"…what the heck was that?"

Naruto blushed at that, laughing sheepishly. "It's something from when I was really, really little. I…it didn't go away."

"It's cute." Sheeka said, laughing at Naruto's gawking expression.

"It's silly." Jax remarked, getting Naruto to whip his head around and pout at the older boy.

"Hey, that's not fair! It was a reflex!"

Yasuo rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, sure it was."

"Oh come on not you too!" Naruto sank down in defeat.

Aurra shook her head at all their silliness, and enjoyed the way the masters seemed so very confused about what was going on with this group of younglings. That was more than okay though. After all, they had quite the story to tell them.

x-=-x

An'ya Kuro stormed her way towards the Treasury, following the path the Force told her to go. Her eyes were focused completely forward, ignoring any obstacles in her path. There wasn't anyone who patrolled the halls at the moment as they'd all moved to the central tower, so there was no one who stood between her and her final destination.

Not even walls.

There was a time when she'd thought about the very bold claim many people made about the Force being able to do 'anything'. It had made her wonder just what the Force was capable and through her training had found some rather interesting uses for it. This particular one wasn't one that she used often as it could be quite taxing if used wrong, as well as she wished to avoid many people from knowing she could do it so that she could have an edge should the time come that she needed it.

Walking through only the walls the Force told her to, she found herself getting off track from heading towards the Treasury, but that was alright. The Force knew where her desired destination was, and was guiding her on the quickest and most efficient way to get there was. Even more so, since she wouldn't have to go to the Treasury only to turn around and go somewhere else.

Feeling herself approaching the final wall between her and her destination, she slowly began picking up speed. Flicking her wrist down to her belt, she unclipped her lightsaber and gripped it in her hand as she began making a mad dash. Gathering the Force in front of her, she completely ignored the physical structure of the wall and ignited her violet lightsaber. There was a glimpse of the younglings in the corner of her eye, but she focused on the one figure that towered over the rest as she leapt into the air.

Said person stumbled back, his own lightsaber coming up to block the spinning blow before it could take his head off. Her feet brushed against the ground before all of her weight bore down on it to increase the velocity of her second strike. The man was forced to leap away, putting distance between him and the younglings.

Not letting up, she clashed sabers with him, his eyes filled with anger and surprise. Not letting up just yet, she spun the blade in her hands to aim for his legs as a feint before bringing it back up towards his arm. He caught the feint before she could take his arm off and managed to block it, though it was a close call. Staring at her, he looked from her to the door.

"How did you do that?!"

"All things are possible through the power of the Force." She replied, releasing her grip with one hand and blasted him in the face with a Force Push. Something clattered to the floor, which caused her to glance down. Looking from it to the younglings, she softly scoffed. "I see, so you thought you could threaten the Jedi by threatening our younglings?" Her lightsaber slowly leveled in his direction. "That was a grievous error."

Xanatos stared at her, blinking in confusion at her expression. He knew of many of the Jedi Masters in the temple, but even he was not arrogant enough to believe he knew all of them. This particular master make him pause as he thought over his next plan of action. There was an air about her similar to Master Windu, but with an edge that as colder than his. Whenever he saw Master Windu, his aura was like that or a vibroblade, the Force humming around him as it threatened to cut through any who crossed him. An'ya though was like a dead blade, a sharpened piece of metal with no technology to give it the cutting edge of a vibroblade but hung with a barbarian-like savagery who would hold no remorse for removing him from the world.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he assumed a Form IV stance. "The other was bothering with you. I'll fix that now."

An'ya didn't change her expression in the slightest, eyes cold as ice as she also shifted into a Form IV stance. "Then come."

Before he could move, she ignored her own statement and rushed him, saber spinning as she collided with his. While used to his former master being willing to be on the offensive, An'ya Kuro was a bit older and had a bit more skill in combat as well as in the Force. He was also in a mindset that fighting her would be like fighting Qui-gon; he was sorely mistaken.

While both Qui-gon and Kuro were very aggressive with Form IV, An'ya had also trained in Jar'Kai – the art of duel wielding – which meant she left her non-dominant hand free for other uses. Like the second blast of Force energy that knocked him skidding back. Growling, he switched to Form II, the duelist style hopefully giving him more leverage as well as the possibility to disarm her. The fluid style was able to give him a bit more leverage as his form gave him a bit more freedom of footwork.

The red and violet sabers danced through the room, lit only by the light of the fading sun. Each time one attempted to be more aggressive, the other pushed back and forced them back onto the defense. Despite knowing that he could draw on the dark side to push her further back, he kept his usage of it in moderation. The dark side was often more taxing the more one drew on it, and he wished to keep some in reserve. His motto for life was _'always have a back door',_ and should things go sour again, he'd need that boost of power.

As they slammed into another saberlock, both of their heads snapped towards the door, a piercing green blade burning through it and doing its best to cut through the durasteel as quickly as possible. Xanatos realized he needed to finish quickly, least he be overwhelmed by the master and Qui-gon. Unfortunately for him, Kuro knew this as well and returned to the offensive, moving as best she could to keep herself between him and the window leading to the traffic of Coruscant. She would not let him get away so easily this time.

Gritting his teeth, the dark side whispered to him and warned him that his was the only moment he'd have to escape. Drawing on all the power he could, he roared as he slammed into Kuro's blade, forgoing part of the forms in favor of increasing his speed and strength to move her out of the way. To his growing frustration, she didn't move where he needed her to move, and remained firmly in place between him and freedom.

Quickly recalling that he had one more out, he used a strong blow to knock the two of them apart to give them distance between each other. Turning to the younglings, huddled in a repulsorlift that was designed to head towards the central tower. He'd been bluffing when he'd threatened the younglings with death by falling. Only with explosives would he be able to pull off a feat such as that, and he'd had Bruck use most of those on the first repulsorlift. Instead, he focused on dragging as much of the ceiling as he could break as quickly as he could down on them.

With the frustration and rage of knowing his duel with his master wouldn't be until later, he channeled the rage into the Force and was satisfied by the sound of the roof quickly cracking and multiple large chunks came raining down. In that moment though, he heard a noise that made him flinch; the sound of durasteel hitting the floor.

Before he could react, there was a searing heat in his arm and for the third time he was thrown back by the Force. Hitting the window, he blinked rapidly as his head exploded with pain. Through spotted vision, he saw Qui-gon using the Force to protect the younlings from the debris, effectively nullifying his plan to crush them. With him was another master, Master Tahl if he remembered right. She had her hands outstretched for an instant before turning to help Qui-gon, which made her the culprit of the Force Push. Finally, his eyes landed on Kuro, who stood defiantly over an object that lay on the ground with the stance of a victor. Looking down to the object, he recoiled as his mind caught on to what had happened.

"My…arm…" He rasped out, staring down at the stump that remained of his arm. Were it not for the pain, he'd have been blinded by rage. Turning to the window behind him, he drew in the pain and rage to focus it on a single point and slammed the hilt of his lightsaber into that point. Around the point where his saber struck the window turned to small pieces that rained harmlessly around him and created a hole large enough for him to escape through. Glaring at the collection of masters, he deactivated and reclipped his saber to his belt. "This isn't over!"

Before he let them say anything, he leapt from the room into the traffic below. The three Jedi knew that they needed to either finish helping the younglings or pursue Xanatos. As it was, they weren't quite as willing to throw themselves into Coruscant air traffic.

Kuro turned to the other masters, nodding to them in silent thanks for their help protecting the younglings. In a silent agreement, Kuro decided to pursue Xanatos while Tahl and Qui-gon took care of the younglings. Striding past them, she made her way to speak with Temple Security. Pausing as an afterthought occurred to her, she drew in the Force to very quickly draw Xanatos's arm to her to take from the view of the children. As much as had happened here so far, they didn't need anything more scaring their psyche.

x-=-x

Bruck's breath caught in his throat as he stared up at his captor, eyes wide in shock and fear. Things had been going so smoothly before he'd ducked into the hidden room. While the guards had raced by, the senator had been in the room and had quite clearly caught the poor boy.

At first he thought he could simply talk his way out, until he saw what was just past the man. In a corner of the room, which upon further inspection was some form of communications room covered with strange and foreign symbols on the walls, was a tall cloaked figure with eyes filled with wisdom and darkness. Looking to the second man, he had a dark hooded cloak covering his visage, shadowing him from the world around him.

The dark side of the Force was suffocating, so dark and heavy that he struggled to stand. This was different than being with Xanatos. With his former master, he'd done his best to lull the boy into a sense of security before unveiling himself as a dark Jedi. But this…this was different. This was dark in a way that was overwhelming in magnitude and power.

And it was _intoxicating._

"It appears we have an unexpected guest." The projected figure said, his build that of a species he couldn't quite remember the name of. Realizing that he was being focused on, he flinched as the figure pointed at him. "We need no witnesses."

"Of course master."

Bruck grit his teeth, not liking that idea at all. And the power…he couldn't think straight. Drawing in the power, he drank it in and buried himself in the dark side, wrapping it like he was using Force Cloak to mask his presence. Drawing his red lightsaber, he ignited it and stood in a defensive stance.

The man paused, seeing the lightsaber and feeling the boy's presence disappear. As the man held up his hand, Bruck could see the figure giving him a curious look. "A moment Master…I need to determine something."

Watching the man, he flinched and moved his lightsaber in front of himself in defense when the man leveled his hand in his direction. He was soon very pleased with that choice as bolts of lightning struck his lightsaber, illuminating it in the shadowy room. Keeping the saber between himself and the man, his breath came heavily as his eyes stared at the man with a growing smirk.

"Interesting." The holographic man said, noting what his apprentice was taking in as well. "So you can hold a saber, and cloak yourself. Do you do any other tricks boy?"

"Teach me how to do that." Bruck said, pointing to the apprentice. Turning slowly, his face turned near manic as he continued drawing on more and more of the Force. "Teach me how you're making this feeling, how you're making these…" He waved his hand vaguely to the symbols on the wall, his mind barely registering that he was beginning to get an impression of what they were the more he drew on the dark side. "Teach me anything. Teach me everything. I don't even know who or why this is here, but I want more of this. Give me _more_."

The master and apprentice looked to one another, both seeming to mull it over. Bruck had gotten past the Sith Runes which were meant to hide the dark side's presence and deter people from seeing the door, and was now getting drunk on the power of the dark side. He was young, unrefined, and had seemed to show tenacity.

"…send him to me, as soon as the opportunity arises." The master said, tapping his chin in thought. "If he believes he will simply have this power at his fingertips with a single demand…we will show him the price that comes with power."

* * *

><p>AN: So, yeah. This is a bit of a short arc, and I still have one more chapter to conclude the aftermath. For those who don't know the story behind this arc, Wookiepedia has a good rundown on it. Needless to say though, the last two scenes were <em>not<em> part of the extended universe. Those are my additions. And their purpose will stand for the time being...for reasons.

And, like all good reasons, they will be answered later.

However, one thing I will answer _now_ is that yes, the end scene will be explained. I didn't just throw that in without having a good reason, but I refer you to my previous paragraph. Just stating that now.

Now for Q&A

**Amidamaru88**: An'ya Kuro is from the extended universe. She'd the Jedi who found Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aurra Sing, and is known as the Dark Woman. If you want to know more about how she understands Naruto...I'm going to get to that later.

Honestly, I'm curious as to everyone's current theories, and I'd like to see who all thinks they'll be able to figure it out before I reveal it.

Anyways, this has been a rather fun little chapter. I hope you enjoyed as well, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Alright, here's another chapter of **From Darkness**, and I've gotta say I'm enjoying this quite a bit so far. Just out of curiosity, do you all prefer long chapters or short chapters? I might increase the length of some in the future, but I would like to hear just so I can know people's opinions on the matter.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

><p>Kuro stood before the Jedi Council, her lips pressed into a thin line as she looked between them. She'd returned early from a mission because she felt that she was needed back at the Temple. Now, after hunting after Xanatos, she had been asked to report back to them. Unfortunately, due to his head start, she'd been unable to get to him before she'd been able to catch him. Now, with her report of her failure given, she was giving them a moment to take it in.<p>

Looking at them all with a flat stare, they observed her silently. Deciding that she had enough, she crossed her arms and sharply exhaled. "What's done is done, but it also shown us a great deal as well."

"So we've heard." Mace softly ground his teeth together, the eloquent way she'd described the asteroid sized holes Xanatos had made in their defenses still running through his head. "However, much of what you've said is not something we can fix."

"So you say, and yet I know that you're avoiding some of the more obvious ways in which it could be fixed due to it changing the tradition we've held for so long." Kuro said, glaring at Mace's dismissal.

"I know. But those traditions are what has also kept us safe." Mace replied sharply. "We can work on some of them, but what you're implying is for Temple Security to be reworked entirely. We don't have the necessary funds or need for such a reaction."

"Are you so certain?" Kuro asked, keeping her face passive as she continued. "You say that we don't have the need, and yet we just had one person running around in the temple free. Just one. And somehow, they not only created chaos, they wrote messages on our walls, and had several bombs that was placed in multiple places which could have caused great devastation to the temple should he have wanted to do more than taunt us."

"And what are you thinking of us doing then?" Master Sifo-Dyas asked, looking the most engaged of the Council. His views on the universe could be considered the most radical, but in this case Kuro was appreciative of the fact someone was standing by her to at least allow her a moment to explain.

"A complete rework isn't necessarily needed, but with all that's happened we should make security a bit more thorough." Kuro closed her eyes, thinking about what the possible answers that could work. "…even without funds if we set aside something, a rotation maybe, of Jedi who would act alongside our security it would be better."

"Certain of this, are you?" Yoda asked, the first words he'd spoken since she'd begun speaking. He'd been contemplating what she'd said, and was finding that a change may be needed, especially since he'd quickly understood why she was pushing for this so adamantly.

"Yes."

"Master Kuro please," Mace asked, trying to be the voice of reason. "What you're asking is for us to turn the Jedi Temple into a fortress. In theory it makes sense, but in practice there will be those who take our actions as actions preparatory to a war that isn't happening."

"Isn't happening?" Her voice became cold, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So, the arm I delivered to security to run DNA on to provide lockdowns on his holdings, didn't happen. I didn't fight with someone who managed to break in, set bombs throughout the temple, threaten Master Yoda, and then kidnap several younglings so as to threaten their lives as well. Am I to understand that correctly?"

There was complete silence at that, none of them willing to answer her. What she said was true, and it was a harsh blow to the Temple; at least all those who were still in the temple at the moment. Most other people likely would just take things as they normally were, which made things all the more troubling since any changes would be met with confusion and would take longer because of that.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Plo Koon asked, taking some consideration to what she'd been saying. Thinking about it, he found that she didn't bring up some issues like these without having a few ideas in mind.

"I'm not saying we take over for Temple Security, but rather that we join them. Not all of the Jedi Order but groups of them, perhaps in rotations, that can work with them to bolster the defense of our temple so that this won't happen again." Seeing the expression on some of their faces, she raised a brow. "You don't approve?"

"Don't you think that there will be those who oppose such an idea?" Sifo-Dyas asked, less in opposition, but more curious about the reasoning behind her plan. "Not amongst the Jedi per se, but the Senate may believe we're trying to change our position from Guardians of the Peace to soldiers."

"Are we Guardians of the Peace? Truly?" Her eyes snapped to Mace, sensing he had something he wanted to interject and used it to stop him from speaking as she continued. Looking to the council, she motioned behind her. "As guardians, I feel we've failed then. If the children still safe then Force willing we'll promise to never let them feel fear like that again. If any opposes us, then we need to remind them that we _are _guardians, and that we need to ensure that we are able to protect ourselves to ensure that we can show the galaxy that we can protect them as well. If we can't even protect those who live among us, how can we truly promise protection for the galaxy?"

The council let that sink in, the question an unsettling one. With the way that things had happened, it was clear that their defenses were much weaker than they'd ever believed. The idea of bolstering their defenses was something they'd never thought of, and it was something that they never believed they needed.

Seeing their indecisiveness, Kuro's frown deepened. "You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that you believe that we'll be safe from those who we haven't stopped. There are people out there who we have made enemies with because we've been forced to stop their mechanisms to take control of that which would throw off the balance of the galaxy. There are people we are still trying to stop, who have the resources to hide even in plain sight. Perhaps we have forgotten, but there are more things than Jedi and Sith in the universe, and with the Sith gone those who should be considered enemies have for some reason been largely ignored. Not in terms of their deeds, but in terms of the damage they could possibly do to us in our home."

All of the Jedi seemed to consider this statement, and each looked to one another. Shaking his head, knowing that they'd be spending quite a bit of time discussing this, Mace finally sighed. "Very well, if you believe that this issue is so important, we will review our options and come to a decision. Thank you for bringing it up."

"Hm, good enough." Turning from the council, she began walking out.

"A moment, if you'd please." Pausing at the door, she turned back to Yoda. "On the progress of youngling Aurra, coming along is she?"

The silence between the two seemed heavy, and the other council members looked to one another. Aurra had been a trouble case since shortly after she'd arrived, constantly a loner, and a troublemaker. Such things they'd dealt with before, but each one needed their own brand of attention, seeing how each person was unique and required their own brand of attention.

From what Kuro had told them, Aurra's father was an unknown, and her mother had been a spice addict on the planet Nar Shaddaa. As such it appeared that it had affected her in ways that they weren't certain of, and made her a difficult child to work with. Kuro was someone they chose when they had difficult younglings, often letting her make them her padawan to help deal with them. Aurra was one such case, and while they knew that she was difficult, the silence told something different.

"…she's changing." She admitted after a moment. "There've been changes in her attitude, and while she's gotten into a lot of trouble, her training in the Force and velocities has improved multifold. The problem is…I know it's not me."

"…a problem, is this?" Yoda asked slowly, noting that she seemed troubled by this.

"Yes. I cannot claim responsibility for her change, and as such I have failed as her instructor." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "It's…difficult for me to understand how I missed how she has changed. If anything, the only real change…has been that she's spent more time with Naruto."

"Naruto? You mean the boy you brought back from the Maw?" Adi Gallia asked, sitting up a bit more as she recalled said blond boy.

"Yes. In fact, she's occasionally caused trouble by getting Naruto out of meditation and going with him to various parts of the temple. I've caught them in the training room, the archive, the roof, and various other areas doing many different things. They've pulled pranks, reprogrammed a droid in the temple laundry mat which has further increased Naruto's distaste for droids, gone swimming in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and once locked themselves in the Temple Treasury. I've punished them in various ways, but they simply get back up and keep going. The one they've seemed to have the most fun with was fluffing the pillows in the meditation room. All of them."

"Very comfortable that was." Yoda said amusedly, recalling seeing the two competing to make the most fluffed pillow for him when he'd accidently stumbled across them in the middle of their punishment.

"True, but that's beside the point. They're troublemakers, but their presence together seems to be mending her. It's making her focused, occasionally showing more kindness towards him than I've seen her exhibit towards any of the younglings her own age, and she's trained harder than any of the instructions I've had with her." Kuro sighed sharply, shaking her head. "Were it not for the fact that to do so is not allowed, I'd ask to take Naruto as my padawan as well as Aurra so as to help her."

"She must learn to interact with others without relying on Naruto." Adi Gallia interjected.

Frowning, Kuro glared at her. "I know and understand that all too well. That's why I believe that taking her to Ord Namurt for further training. It will keep her from making an unhealthy connection, as well as give her a chance to see if we can get her to take her first steps towards truly becoming a Jedi."

"…I can understand what you're asking, and you have permission to do so. We do ask that you try to be back before the end of next year, so that we can evaluate her progress, but until that point we'll allow you that time." Mace said after a moment's deliberation.

Nodding to the man, she turned once more to the door. Not caring for it, she simply walked through the door as she left, leaving the Council members alone to determine what they should do with the information she'd given them.

x-=-x

"How are they?" Qui-gon asked softly, looking between the younglings. They seemed to be sinking in on themselves, comforting each other and doing what they could to comfort one another. Were what happened not so perilous, he might've smiled at how they had taken a bad situation and turned it into an experience that would keep them close.

"They'll survive." The healer said softly, placing her hand on one of the sleeping youngling's head. "Physically they're fine, and will make a full recovery in a few days. Mentally…I can never say for certain. Events such as this leave a lasting impact on many minds, and can sometimes leave them with scars. Obviously there are worse things to see, but having a brush with the dark side like this isn't something we're used to either. There's never been dark side used with a group like this since the time of the Sith. We…none of us foresaw this coming."

Qui-gon's head fell slightly, feeling a weight on his shoulders due to the fact Xanatos was his padawan at a point. "I'm sorry."

The healer placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Don't worry, none of them will blame you, and none of us will either. It wasn't your decision to do this. He chose his path. We'll just have to deal with this to the best of our ability." As she said this, her eyes slowly shifted to another part of the room, her eyes became concerned as she remembered something. "Things aren't all that bad, what with that little ball of energy being out of it."

"Oh?" Qui-gon asked, glancing to where Naruto was sleeping. He was leaned up against Aurra, who looked like she was holding as still as possible to prevent from waking her, with several of the other younglings all sleeping around her. It was a rather amusing sight to see the normally stubborn and insubordinate youngling become confused and uncertain. "I've never seen him get so bad as to get a remark like that."

"Well, it's not that he was bad per se. It's more that the Force was throwing things off around him. To make matters worse, he was constantly running around, getting under the healers feet, talking to the younglings that should have been lying down, and trying to cheer them up." Shaking her head, she pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "Worse still, is that whatever happened to him with the Force isn't something we can fix…though he seems to be doing a good job so far, and doing better than we are."

It took a moment for what she said to sink in for Qui-gon. "He's healing himself?"

"More or less. It's not exactly what he's doing, since he's not actually consciously healing himself, but he _is_ healing himself. Somehow, the dark side that was tainting his body is being dissipated to repair the damage to him. It's not something that I've ever seen or heard of happening before, and yet with my own eyes, I watched through the Force as a wound that I couldn't heal began slowly healing all on its own."

Qui-gon nodded, the words sound to him. Thinking over what she said, he found a discrepancy between what she said and what he was doing. "I didn't think that he'd been injured at all during the fighting. If anything, Aurra should've been the one who required assistance."

"True, but her healing was simple, barely a scratch when she got to us. The Dark Woman must've done quite a good job to have healed it as well as she did. Naruto on the other hand, had several points of internal damage. Self-inflicted from the look of it, the worst one being on his shoulder, and each wound laced with the dark side." Looking to the unconscious blond child, she huffed. "If I had to wager a guess, whatever happened between him and the youngling Bruck wasn't meant for him. Likely he was trying to protect those around him and in doing so the dark side lashed out at him from inside him. I'll have to document this for later…the masters will need to know of this to review so that we can get someone to look further into this."

Qui-gon nodded, also curious as to how Naruto could have had such internal wounds. It didn't make sense. No one should have the ability to inflict damage like that to oneself, though there were accounts of people injuring themselves with abilities like Force Lightning. "…one of his injuries stuck out to you. Why was his shoulder so severe?"

"That's the odd part. While we were able to heal that one for the most part, it seemed like part of his nerves had been burnt off as well as lacerations to his upper muscles. If I had to wager a guess, it looked like he'd been struck by something superheated."

"Like a lightsaber?"

"Perhaps." Glancing to Qui-gon, she noted his expression shift. "Something the matter master?"

"Hm? No nothing, just…he's got a good heart. I can only imagine what sort of thing happened to him in that room." Qui-gon's voice was soft, and distant, his mind far from them as he thought over what he'd just been told.

"…if you want to talk to him to find out, you'll have to wait till later, understand?" She jabbed his side lightly, getting him to jump and return to reality. "I don't want to hear that he was woken up and running around before he's gotten some rest. As much a help as we want him to be, letting him sleep is the best thing for you to do right now."

"Of course, I understand." He chuckled softly, moving over to the entrance. Glancing back, his smile widened as he saw Aurra glaring at him, silently mouthing the word 'traitor' to him. Shaking his head, he left the room and let them be. It would make for a good bonding moment for them after all.

x-=-x

"…are they gone?"

"Yeah, they are. Did you enjoy your nap?"

Naruto yawned widely, rubbing his eyes with his left hand gingerly. "I didn't take a nap…"

"Sure you didn't." Aurra gently poked the other three younglings, getting them to stir from their slumber. "Alright guys, huddle up, it's time we finish our talk."

"Whazza…" Jax muttered, picking his head up for a moment before dropping it back down. Getting another poke, he waved his hand as he slowly pushed himself up.

Yasuo and Sheeka rolled over and looked at them, taking a moment to take in everything. The room was dark, which meant that they wouldn't be seen or heard as far as they knew, which meant they could talk about some things that Naruto had thought of after running around the room like a blond blur.

"That guy was scary…" Naruto said after a moment, looking to the younglings. "They're all so scared, and it's so weird."

"Yeah well, there are some scary people out there." Aurra rubbed her shoulder, the mostly healed wound a reminder of Bruck and how he'd attacked her. "And even more stupid people."

Yasuo nodded, looking across the rest of his group with a pronounced frown. "I hate stupid people like that."

"We shouwd do something." Sheeka said, getting nods from everyone. When there was silence, her head fell slightly. "But…I don't know what to do…"

"We have to become super awesome, that's what!" Naruto punched his hands into the air, flinching and bringing them down when a sharp pain ran down his right side from his shoulder. "I mean, if the masters can do stuff to make him run away, why can't we?"

"But we're not masters. We're not even padawan's yet." Jax muttered, finally awake enough to focus on the conversation. "We're just some younglings with a big dream."

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child." Aurra said in a mock-Yoda voice. Poking Jax's forehead, she grinned. "And big ideas can come from little people like you."

"…so what are you suggesting?" Yasuo leaned back against the wall, not sure what they should do, but beginning to get some ideas from what he'd seen of the masters.

"Well, you'll have to become awesome." Aurra patted Naruto on the head, who seemed to almost preen and nuzzle into the affectionate touch. "Naruto's right, that's probably the best thing you can do. The question is, how awesome do you want to be?"

"More awesome than Master Yoda!" Naruto said quickly.

"More powerful than Mace Windu." Jax nodded, remembering hearing about the saber skills of the legendary master.

"More wise than Ali-Alann." Yasuo softly smiled, remembering all that the master had taught them, knowing he had a lot more to show them if he was going to be leading their group for the next couple of years.

"Able to do anything at all…like Master Kuwo." Keesha glanced around when she got an odd look at that. "I heawd fwom some of the othew youngwings that she wan thwough a wall."

"No way, really?!" Naruto's jaw dropped at that statement. The idea of just _walking_ through a wall was insane, but the idea of just popping through a wall was undoubtable one that would look pretty awesome.

"Yeah. And she beat up the bad Jedi too."

"Aw man, then that's what we're gonna do." Naruto nodded rapidly, his grin practically sparkling in the darkness. "We're gonna learn how to do all kinds of awesome and cool stuff, so that when we become Jedi Master's, no one will ever think to hurt younglings like our friends ever again!"

"What about the rest of the universe?" Yasuo cut in, remembering that they'd become Jedi and get to travel across the universe. "Jedi are guardians, so…why not protect everyone?"

"Hm…" Naruto thought about that for a moment. "Yeah…you're right! I like that plan a lot. We'll become Jedi who are super awesome and be able to jump across mountains, and walk through walls, maybe even fly, or be able to fight with armies of droids and tear through their vicious metal bodies with no remorse."

Aurra rolled her eyes. "Are you still mad about that? I told you I was sorry."

"Droids are _evil _and must be defeated before they begin their attacking! They've already attacked me a couple of times."

"A medical droid doing a check-up and the laundry droid moving to the machine you're at is hardly fair to all droids."

Naruto crossed his arms, huffing heatedly. "I know they're evil. I just know it. No droid is ever going to make a fool out of me."

"Uh-huh, sure they aren't. And I'm a Wookie's uncle." Aurra said with a giggle.

"…hey, is it true that they rip people's arms off when they lose?" Naruto asked suddenly, getting a very confused nod form Aurra. "Sweet! I'm gonna wrestle one someday!"

Everyone deadpanned at that, knowing full and well that Naruto was being absolutely serious about that idea. Of course, none of them would stop him either; if that's what he thought would help make him awesome they'd support him as he tried. And they'd likely wince as he was mercilessly defeated, but that was beside the point.

"So, we're all agreed that we'll become super awesome and protect everyone and anyone right?" Yasuo asked, getting a nod from everyone except Aurra.

"Except the bad guys. Bad guys get beat up because they're doing bad things." Naruto said resolutely.

Aurra watched them as they all began nodding and laughing silently. Inwardly, she questioned herself as to whether or not she herself had the ability to live up to such dreams. She'd never once thought about such things, but hearing the small group of younglings made her pause.

Was she really good enough to become a Jedi of repute? One who was 'super awesome' and capable of doing all the things and anything such as that. She was certain that she could do certain bits, but there was something about that which made her uncomfortable.

Closing her eyes, she rubbed their head and nodded slowly. "Yeah…we'll do that. And we'll be the most awesome guardian defender people of all time. Promise."

x-=-x

_Two Days Later_

An'ya Kuro stood next to the spaceship that was going to take her and Aurra to Ord Namurt. Looking over, she wasn't surprised to see Naruto was whining and making a scene with Aurra. Clearly he was going to be as much trouble as Aurra had been while she was gone, but then he'd already been a troublemaker due to the fact that the two of them had gotten so close during the few months they'd been together. As she watched them though, there was something different about them. While Naruto was making a scene, he seemed to be waving his arms and shouting something she could hear clearly from the other side of the hanger.

Shaking her head, she leaned back and watched the two with a hint of a smile on her face. Once more she could see that there was a connection, something like a sibling relationship…or even a sibling rivalry judging from how Aurra now had Naruto in a headlock and was scraping her knuckles roughly on his head.

"Aurra! Time to go!"

Aurra glanced up to her, letting go of Naruto. He tried to grab her back but was patted on the head which caused him to pause. Saying something An'ya couldn't hear, the two of them grinned before Aurra raced over to her.

She considered for a moment that she could've listened in on what they were saying, but she would let them have their moment. Whatever it was, it was between them. While she'd said before that she didn't want them to become wrongly attached, she wouldn't fault them for desiring to have some attachments. Her own philosophy was to detach themselves from everything but the Force, she let her students make their own decisions based on what she taught them. It was how she had learned, and her teachings were meant to be internalized and for their conclusions to be built up from that and everything else the Force and the universe would teach them.

Running past her into the ship, Kuro glanced once more towards Naruto. Said boy threw up his hands and shouted to them. "Come back soon so we can become even more awesome kay?!"

Not bothering to reply, she walked up the ramp and closed it behind her. Seeing Aurra with her bag of supplies, she walked to the controls and sat down. Strapping herself in, she set in the coordinates and began the launch sequence.

Aurra sat next to her, eyes staring blankly out the front view. Her mind was so far gone, on ideas and a few things she'd gotten snuck onto her datapad with Naruto the day before when they found out she would be leaving. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would make the very short breaks when she didn't feel like she'd been run over by a wampa.

"You're thoughts are unfocused and wild Aurra. Focus on one thing, and reach out with the Force. You'll learn far greater things if you do."

Aurra scowled softly at the words, still unaccustomed to Kuro's way of teaching. She seemed to cut in at every moment she thought she was free and give her some assignment that was meant to 'help' her but felt like a tedious assignment. Still, she did as she was asked, though her frustration was already proving to be a sore point.

Shaking her head, Kuro watched her padawan to be attempt to meditate and recenter herself. The trip to Ord Namurt would be the most she'd get to relax and allow herself to connect to the Force before the 'real' training began. She had many ideas and many ways in which she could educate Aurra, and each would help give her a more sound understanding of how to teach her.

"…Master?" Aurra's voice cut through her thoughts, making her pause in her hyperspace calculations to glance at her. "Do…nevermind."

"What is it?"

"It's nothing." Aurra gripped her arms and looked away, eyes lost in some phantom image far off. "It's nothing…"

"…" There was nothing she could reasonably say to that, though she felt that she should attempt to say _something_. Reaching out to the Force, she finally sighed and gave up. "When you're ready, I'm willing to listen. Whatever this 'nothing is', I'll willingly assist you with it."

Aurra glanced up, biting her lip as she thought about asking once more. Shaking her head, she let herself sink into herself dejected by her fear. "Thank you."

"Of course Aurra." Kuro finished the calculations and made the jump to hyperspace, sighing as the stars seemed to zoom around them as the ship raced towards their destination. Standing up, she began moving to the back of the ship.

Thinking of something, Aurra decided to try something else. "…do you think Naruto could do it? Become as strong as Master Yoda in nine years?"

Kuro paused, looking to Aurra and sensed her trepidation at the question. Thinking it over, she felt that she should give the most honest answer she could. "No. He won't be as strong as Master Yoda in that time." Letting the words sink in, she slowly continued. "But then, Master Yoda is nine hundred years old. Catching up to a master of that age would take considerably longer than just nine years. Especially with all that he's learned in that time."

Thinking about that, Aurra decided to prod a bit further. "Learned? Like what?"

"Oh Master Yoda has dabbled in a bit of everything. Saber forms, the Force, archives, even a bit into politics. He makes for a great debate partner whenever one can find the time to actually understand what the senators are saying. And those aren't just things he's learned, those are things he's mastered. To master them requires time. Time is something that will come in its own due course. Do you understand?"

"Of course." Aurra said, mentally filing those things away to send in a letter to Naruto. She knew that the lack of confidence wouldn't go well, but knowing where he could study them would help him.

In that moment she decided that even if she didn't become a great Jedi, she would do what she could to help Naruto become one. Even if only from the sidelines, she'd be able to feel the enthusiastic feeling of the Force when he finally obtained the rank of Master, and showed everyone that the impossible could be achieved.

* * *

><p>AN: No questions this time, so thank you all for reading. There's going to be a few more skips in time coming up, but each will hopefully be locked into their own chapter to contain the events. And boy next chapter is going to be interesting to write because of Ord Namurt. For those of you who don't know Aurra's story, you'll either see or read up on it whenbefore I write about what happened.

In the meantime, enjoy yourselves, and see you on the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Uh…okay normally I'm not this fast at writing my chapters, but apparently I've been able to write one a day. Please don't get mad if I slow down, I'm just on a roll and don't wanna stop. Hopefully you'll all continue to enjoy what I've got, and so since we're here, let's dive into it!

* * *

><p><em>Nine Months Later<em>

The temple had become largely quiet over since Aurra had left. The masters who'd been through what had happened with Xanatos were still looking it over. Security had been double checked and redone, and they'd discussed further about Kuro's plan. Regrettably for them, much of it was left up to debate as the Council was split on the decision for the first few months.

Master Tahl walked through the archives, sighing as she thought about what had happened. She knew that her padawan, Bant, was helping organize things for her and from the sounds something was happening. Again. Laughing softly, she stopped in place as she felt a pair of presences in the Force race past her.

"I told you I'm sorry!"

"And you knocked over my stack again!"

"It was an accident!"

Tahl grinned, continuing on her way over to the console. While she couldn't bring up everything she used to, she could bring up most of it through memory alone. Finding the keys she wanted, she quickly typed them in to bring up the information she needed. Moving on autopilot, she grinned as she remembered the circumstances that brought the rambunctious five year old youngling to being in the archives during what would be normally 'free time'.

Apparently Naruto had somehow found out about parts of the idea to up the security in the temple, and that the decision hadn't been finalized. Apparently the fact made him curious, and he'd gone out to test it. The rest became madness.

Naruto ended up doing something in practically every room he could possibly get to undetected, from taking away all the meditation cloaks he could get his hands on to get dyed multiple colors and hang throughout the halls, he'd taken multiple lightsabers and placed them in the pockets, and written messaged on other walls. Surprisingly, from what she heard many of the messages had been very uplifting and encouraging, and some were actually left so that others could read them as they walked through the halls.

He'd finally been caught because of the security cameras, which he'd blatantly ignored seeing how he'd been able to complete the activities and then return to his group and act like nothing was wrong. He'd even tried to act innocent when they caught up with him, though the fact that several of the masters were holding purple and blue cloaks broke him into a fit of laughter. Once they'd finished taking care of the 'damage' he'd done, they'd figured that they needed to give him something to occupy his time with. Thus, he'd ended up in the archives.

Bant, the youngling who'd helped them find the items Xanatos had hidden in the water, had impressed her with her strength of will and she'd asked the council for her to become her padawan. She was a very smart girl, and had been a great help in the archive. Though poor Bant hadn't yet learned how to deal with Naruto, and as such she was often chasing him around for whatever thing he'd done.

"Master Tahl help!"

"Get down from there!"

Tahl glanced back, the Force amplifying her senses just enough so that she could 'see' what was going on through the impressions of the Force and sensing their life signs. Naruto was up towards the top of a shelf, with Bant stomping her foot and shouting at him. He was currently stuck in that position, and while he'd shown he could hide away for quite a while, that particular position seemed like it was making him shake with exertion.

Stretching out with the Force, she gently gripped him with the Force and plucked him from the wall. He flailed for a second before holding still, which likely was due to the fact Bant was marching underneath him, waiting for him to be dropped to the ground. Shaking her head, she placed Naruto on the other side of her so that he would be given some breathing space while she spoke. "Now Bant, what have we talked about?"

"But master!" Bant tried to say, waving at Naruto as though it would help make her understand. Realizing the futility of what she was doing, her hands dropped and she sighed. "I need to be patient with him, he's still just five…"

"Yes he is. Although." Turning to where Naruto was, who was already muttering softly. "You do need to be careful Naruto. Bant has put a lot of time and effort into her work. You've been doing quite well, and I'd hate for you to be moved somewhere else."

"I know, but look!" Naruto waved his arms wildly. It took her a second to feel through the Force that there was an item in his hands he was trying to 'help her see'. It was a holocron, likely one of the ones that younglings couldn't get to due to their requiring assistance to get to it.

Naruto had a lot of things he was trying to work on, and hated that there was so much that people seemed to be holding back from. Rather than let it stop him, he'd shown great persistence in doing what he could with what he had. He'd also made sure to grab whatever he could whenever they were available.

Humming softly, she held out her hand for the holocron. Naruto groaned in defeat as he placed the holocron on her hand, stepping back with a pout. Brushing her hands over the holocron, she activated it and listened to it.

"_Greetings."_ The holocron said, a voice she didn't recognize speaking from the holocron. Apparently Naruto had found one of the holocrons she hadn't gotten to. _"Now, I'll be going over the basics of Force constructs. Tell me when you're ready to begin."_

"Force constructs?" Tahl considered the information on the holocron, not certain about what to think of Naruto's curiosity on the subject. "And what were you thinking of doing with this Naruto? This is fairly advanced Force manipulation."

"I know! That's why I wanna learn it!" The excitement and glee in Naruto's voice was quite clear to hear. "And-and I bet Master Yoda knows all kinds of stuff about Force constructs, so if I learn about it I'll be one step closer to my goal!"

Tahl heard Bant groan, and couldn't contain the smile on her face. Naruto had been very adamant about his dream, and while he'd used it as an excuse to borrow holocrons when he thought she wasn't looking – not that her line of sight had anything to do with what she perceived – she found it admirable that he wanted to learn so much.

Bant had just gotten tired of him yelling it all the time.

Considering it for another moment, she finally decided she could see no harm in letting him hold onto it. Handing it back to him, she kept a grip on it when he reached out to grab it. "You bring this back as soon as you're done with it. Understood?"

"Yes mam!" Naruto's touch was very gentle, placing it into a pouch to review later.

"Now, would you be so kind as to assist Bant with replacing all the holocrons you knocked over?"

"Okay! Come on Bant, let's go!"

"Wait what?" Bant hesitated to follow as Naruto ran over the mess of holocrons. Realizing that he would likely just put things back randomly. "Hey, wait up!"

Tahl sat down, listening to the two argue and mess with the holocrons as they put them away. Shaking her head, she let herself be momentarily immersed in the Force as she meditated.

She'd head that Qui-gon and Obi-wan would be back soon, the hunt for Xanatos after he'd supposedly ran to Telos IV, only to find that the trail they'd found went cold there. He'd gone 'home', but then disappeared elsewhere. They'd struggled to find any trace, and though they'd continued for a bit longer they'd eventually had to give up.

The idea of Xanatos being out there in the universe was startling, and made her nervous. She'd felt uncomfortable bringing Bant with her on a couple of her missions due to that fact, not wanting to endanger her. Bant had been rather unhappy about the situation, but had used the time to try to watch over Naruto as much as she could. Though from what she could tell, Naruto seemed to be doing quite a bit to watch over her as well.

"Master Tahl?"

Speaking of, "Yes Naruto, what is it?"

"Why don't you take Bant on missions?" Naruto asked, sitting on the table next to her.

And there it was. Naruto wasn't one to beat around the bush, and while he didn't badger her about it, he made sure to mention it each day. Her explanation didn't change, and so she didn't reply straight away, letting the question hang in the air. Feeling him kicking his legs, she realized he wasn't going to just leave.

"Naruto, we've discussed this." Tahl pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that he wanted to hear it again. "I don't want to put her in danger. Xanatos is still out there, and we can't predict when or where he'll show up."

"No, but we can't stop him from coming back can we?" Naruto shrugged, remembering how much chaos had happened because of Xanatos.

She'd thought of that, and they'd mentioned it before to no avail on Naruto's end. "Not with how much you've helped boost security thanks to those pranks you pulled. Of course, that's also how you ended up here now isn't it?"

"Maybe I wanted to be in the archive?"

"You don't get to read most of the holocrons, and those that I do are just basic instruction anyways." Tahl pat his head, ruffling his fuzzy spiky hair. "Nice try, but not quite."

Naruto pouted, trying to think of something else. Remembering something he'd heard from Bant, he grinned. "What about if I tell Qui-gon then?"

Tahl thought about it, the idea a different than what he normally brought up. "And just what will you tell Qui-gon then?"

"That you like him."

_That_ made her freeze up. Staring at him, her eyebrow slowly raised. "And just where did you get an idea like that?"

"Because-because of the way you talk about him. And you always seem really happy whenever you're talking about him! And-and-and–"

"Breath Naruto, take your time." She pat his head, getting him to slowly take deep breaths to refocus himself.

Naruto took several deep breaths, closing his eyes as he tried to think. "Do you not like him?"

"I do, but it doesn't make sense that you'd come such a conclusion, unless…" Slowly looking to where Bant was, she could vaguely sense her scrunching in on herself. "I see."

"But if it's true, why do you act like it's a bad thing?" Naruto asked, the idea of her holding back her feelings sounding like something that wasn't what a Jedi would do.

Tahl thought about it, shifting her chair to fully face him. The question was one she'd asked herself before, but there was something about the question that made her feel she needed to consider her answer carefully. Perhaps it was the Force, or her own intuition, but whatever the case, it was something that she didn't want to dismiss.

"Well, Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments for one, and there are many other parts that could be said." Tapping a few keys, on the keyboard, she brought up the Jedi Code. "Maybe this will help explain a bit better. Would you kindly read this?"

Naruto pouted, knowing that she was going to do something all masters did; use some text or ancient wisdom to make him feel silly and then very stupid. Still, he turned to the text and slowly began to read. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.

"…that sounds really confusing." Naruto muttered as he thought over what he'd just read. The idea of any of those things being true was ridiculous to him.

"It's meant to be I think. Qui-gon and I used to talk about it all the time. We've seen how each of those lead into each other, and how some contradict each other. For example, we've seen how passion is a good thing, and also how it's a bad thing, almost as much as how being serene at a wrong moment can make one lose focus on the world around them." Tahl realized halfway through that she had once more been speaking of Qui-gon, and had to refocus to make sure Naruto didn't catch on. "Anyways, you get the point."

Naruto stared into space, thinking about it as hard as his five year old mind possibly could before coming to a definitive conclusion. "Nope."

"…excuse me?"

"I don't get it. Where did it say you can't love someone?"

That wasn't the response she was expecting, and it took her a second to think of how to respond to him. "Well, in the past it was considered alright for such relations, but those emotions run deep, and have the potential to lead one to the dark side."

"But, isn't love a _good_ thing?" Naruto couldn't wrap his mind around the concept, and was still clearly struggling. "I mean…isn't it?"

Tahl could sense even Bant listening intently as she thought over how to answer Naruto. The idea of her struggling with this concept made them both completely silent. She herself didn't know what to think about this subject. She'd encroached on what some masters would consider as 'dangerous territory' in terms of how close she and Qui-gon were. However, considering how long they knew each other for, and how much they'd gone through, it wasn't difficult to see how they'd grown to have a deep bond with one another. Only between the two of them though had they considered the implications of what they felt. The fact that Bant and Naruto seemed to be thinking about it and trying to understand what they felt as well made her silently worried that others might have caught on already to the feelings the two of them were working through.

"Well…" Her voice was soft, uncertain, and thoughtful. "Love…is a form of powerful compassion. Powerful emotions have made the best of Jedi, and the worst of Sith, which is why emotions are something that our Order worries about. It's the kind of emotion that if you aren't careful can blind you to what is really happening with another person. There are also people out there who will try to use that love to hurt you."

"But, that means that love for the right people is a good thing." Naruto said, smiling as though he'd figured it out. "So that means that love is something that every Jedi should have!"

"That's not what I said Naruto." Tahl tried to halt Naruto, but Naruto was already nodding.

"Alright, that means I shouldn't say anything about it! It's not my love, so I'll respect it." Naruto grabbed Tahl's hand patting it. "I'm sorry I said I'd tell. I hope you and Qui-gon have the best of time, kay?"

"What?" Tahl didn't get a chance to finish saying anything as Naruto hopped down and ran over to Bant. "I don't…Naruto? What…"

Bant was giggling softly, and she could feel her face was one of clear and present confusion. She was completely still and silent while they worked for several moments. Suddenly, she understood why Master Yoda enjoyed being with younglings so much; they managed to throw off even a master like her, brought up questions that while she questioned herself didn't know the answers to, and came to conclusions that made her wonder if he'd actually achieved the answer that she herself was seeking herself.

She could feel him approaching before he ever arrived, but that didn't stop her from flinching when she heard his voice. "You're rather quiet today. No one came around to ask for your knowledge on the different systems for missions?" Turning to Qui-gon, she could sense the shift long in his presence before she heard him speak. Her disposition was different than before, and she knew he could clearly see it. "Is something the matter?"

"…no, nothing's wrong." Tahl said, making a motion in the direction of the younglings. Once he looked between her and them, he understood her silent message. _"Later."_

"I see." Qui-gon glanced over to said younglings, already knowing how he could get Naruto to head off. "Well, I heard about the mess Naruto made in the archives, and came here to tell him what I just saw; the Dark Woman is back."

"What?!" Naruto shouted, his eyes becoming extremely wide as he jumped up. "Why didn't she say anything!? I've been waiting for a month to hear from them! Master Tahl?"

"Go. Bant would appreciate it if she finished it without you knocking everything over." Bant's shout of indignation went largely unnoticed by the three as Naruto whooped loudly and bolted over the desk and raced as fast as his young legs could take him down towards the landing bay. Glancing towards Qui-gon, the curious and confused aura he had returned to her as she bit her lip. "…we need to talk…soon."

"…anytime you're free, you know where to find me." Qui-gon replied, moving out of the room.

Tahl felt his presence moving away from their position in the Force, but knew that she'd never quite feel it fade away in the see of energy that was the ever living power of the Force. Silently, she wondered if she was making the right choice. Perhaps only time would truly tell.

x-=-x

All who saw Naruto bolting down the corridor at high speeds knew to either stay out of the way or stop him. From the way he ran, and the fact none of Temple Security were following him, they all wisely decided to leave him alone for the time being.

Excitement pumped through him as his face grew ever wider in a grin. He hadn't heard of anything regarding their return, which made him silently upset with Aurra. She'd been doing such a good job at keeping him informed of her training, how frustrated she was, how much she had wanted to come back and spend time with him and occasionally she mentioned his friends too.

Not only that, but a few months ago they'd finally been allowed to being training with lightsabers. Though it was just learning to block harmless blaster bolts, the fact they were blindfolded made things more difficult and more fun for him. Said training required they learn the Form I, Shii-cho's, velocities, which meant he was now even better than the last time they'd spared. Now that she was back, he could show her just how much he'd improved!

Rounding the corner, he skid to a halt and stared up with wide eyes as he saw Kuro walking towards him. "Master Kuro!"

She looked up at him and something inside his gut clenched painfully. Something was off. The normal all-knowing look she had on her face wasn't there, replaced by a look of someone wandering lost and in a daze.

Stepping closer, he saw her stop in front of him and flinched. "M-master?"

Her hand came down on his head, resting on it unmoving for a moment. Then, just as quickly as it had been there, she was moving away, walking down the hall, leaving Naruto alone in silence.

x-=-x

The council sat together, uncertain of what to say to the woman who'd been dubbed 'the Dark Woman' as she gave her report. Her tone was flat throughout, eyes unfocused and posture despondent. It had broken more than she was willing to outwardly say, but her body told the story all to well.

"Uncertain you are, as to who it was?" Yoda finally asked, knowing that they'd need to finish speaking of this now, and not leave it unresolved.

"Yes master. I had been away for no more than a few hours, only to attempt returning when I realized something was wrong. I only saw a glimpse of the ship that left from my training grounds, and by the time I'd arrived…I was too late."

Each of the Jedi stared at her with a look of remorse and silently contemplated what they could possibly say to her. What she was telling them was heartbreaking for any master; to lose one's padawan could on occasion crush the soul of some masters, especially those who had a deep connection to their youthful charge.

Which brought up an interesting question. "Unlike you this is, to return and tell us. What has changed, may I ask?"

Kuro was silent for a while, her mind lost in thought, eyes closed as she took in his question. It was a very good question to ask, especially considering the fact that he'd also been right. Under normal circumstances, she'd just leave to some place in touch with the Force to meditate. However, the Force _had_ spoken to her already, and what it told her made her internally flinch. "I wished to let you know that I will be stepping down for a time. My…heart is heavy, and I feel that I must meditate to refocus myself to be certain I know of my place as a Jedi."

"…we understand." Mace said after a moment, knowing that despite the hardship Aurra had caused at times, she would be missed and sought after. "Take the time you need. We'll be here waiting for your return."

"That's the other thing I wished to speak on." Kuro replied plainly, a small spark in her eyes reigniting for just a moment. "I don't know when I will return, but I do know this. When I return, I will be taking Naruto Uzumaki as my next padawan."

The silence in the room was palpable, and not one of them could say they understood either. It hadn't been a question, it was a demand. She was telling them that she was returning to take Naruto as her learner, and that regardless of what they determined from his evaluation she would continue to take him as her student.

"And why is that?" Adi Galla finally asked, breaking the silence that hung around them.

"Because I felt it in the Force." She stated plainly, as though that were the most obvious thing. Perhaps to her it was, however to they who had not had such a premonition, it wasn't.

"Dark Woman, we understand, you've just lost your padawan master. Not all of us can fully understand your pain and regret, but we do understand why you'll be taking time to meditate. However…how is it that you are already decided on such an action if you are also to be leaving?" Sifo-Dyas asked, tenting his fingers as he listened attentively.

"Because I felt in in the Force." She repeated. The spark in her eyes was flickering for a brief second, but quickly resumed the heated look held for them. "I do not speak as though I understand the intent and desires of the Force. All that I am aware of as of now, is that it is desired by the will of the Force that upon my return that I am to take Naruto as my padawan learner. Perhaps it is the Force's way of letting me know I will have a way to redeem myself for what I've done in losing Aurra, but perhaps there is something more to be seen and learned. I will not know though, until the time comes wherein I return. Until then…"

Turning around, she left the council room, this time deciding to let the doors open before she walked out. And, with a sense of déjà vu, Naruto fell through the doors that he'd been attempting to listen through on his face.

Glancing back to the council, she shook her head and helped Naruto up. Naruto shook his head to shake of the feeling of being stunned before looking at her. "Master Kuro, where's Aurra?"

"…she was taken Naruto." Kuro replied directly. "Someone came to the planet and took her while I was preparing another training for her. I'm…sorry Naruto."

"…but, is she okay?" Naruto asked, clearly not understanding what she meant. 'Taken' meant very little to his child mind.

"I don' t know, but I don't think so. Alive yes, but okay…I don't believe she is." Taking a deep breath, her head dropped a little as the weight of her words hit her once more. "I'm sorry Naruto."

"…so she's alive?"

"…yes Naruto."

"Okay then, we'll get her back!" Naruto said resolutely, though his face was one of desperation. Aurra was his friend. He'd promised her that he'd become the greatest Jedi ever who wouldn't let things like this happen; so how was it that he'd already failed his friend?

"It's not that simple Naruto." An'ya Kuro said softly. "We don't know where they took her, where to begin looking, or why they took her. By all reasoning they didn't have any reason to take her. If…If I'm right, she might've even been sold as a slave by pirates."

"Pirates?" Naruto's posture scrunched up in concentration; arms crossed, eyes closed, and mouth a thin line of determination. "Well…um…hm…"

Behind them, the council watched in silence. This wasn't there place to say anything, though many in the room had various opinions on what was happening. Some believed that she shouldn't have told Naruto, that it would now affect his training negatively. Others thought that it was good, and that it would wake Naruto to the reality of the universe around him. And a very limited few just watched, curious to see what outcome would be made of this.

"You're too young to look for her Naruto. But…when you're old enough, I will return, and I will take you with me." Gripping his shoulder gently, she waited till he opened his eyes. "That's a promise."

"…okay." Naruto stomped his foot down and clenched his fists. "Then I'll have to be extra super ready for when you come back! I'll be so awesome that whoever took Aurra will be so upset that they did something so dumb. And then, we'll get her back, and stop them from making anyone else in the universe sad ever again!"

Kuro nodded slowly, patting his shoulder once. "Good boy." Standing tall, she walked past him, heading once more to the hanger bay. She knew of a place where she could meditate on all of this in peace; Cophrigin V. There, she'd find what she was looking for to prepare herself for becoming Naruto's master. Until then, "I expect to see how far you've come when I return, understand?"

"Yes master!" Naruto's eyes shone with a fire hidden in his azure eyes, with each and every spark from his childhood to now igniting into a fire that began burning intensely. "I'll be the greatest ever, just you wait and see!"

Kuro didn't acknowledge the statement, but Naruto felt she'd heard him. He _knew_ she heard him, and that was more than good enough for him.

x-=-x

Later, after the sun had gone down and there was silence in Coruscant, Naruto turned restlessly in his sleep.

Everything that had happened with Aurra and Kuro was burnt into his mind, creating a dark feeling that hung over his head while also forcing his mind's activity to skyrocket into hyperspace, which didn't allow him to sleep. Eventually forced to sit up, he rubbed his face roughly as he tried to think of something he could do to become the greatest Jedi ever.

There were so many ways he could do it too; through the Force like Master Yoda, through saber fighting like Master Windu, through learning about the worlds like Master Tahl, through understanding politics, and perhaps even so much more. There was simply too much for him to accomplish in a short amount of time. He didn't even know when Kuro would be coming back anyways, but he knew that he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. But…where to start? Which of these would give him the ability to protect everyone he cared about?

Standing up, he began moving through his alchaka forms. He didn't have the answers, but maybe in the Force he'd find some. Closing his eyes, he began losing himself in the flow of the Force, mind becoming slowly calmer while his pace built up. It didn't take long for him to become lost in the Force, mind completely turned off while his body went through the practiced routine. Each step flowed into the next, the Force flowed into him, and then he would move once more for the pattern to continue on its seemingly endless course.

After some time though, it came to a rather startling conclusion as during one of the turns he ran face first into a wall. Yelping, he covered his mouth as he looked around to see if any of the other younglings had been awakened by his cry. The bunks had some turning restlessly, but overall they remained silent and asleep. Taking slow, deep breaths to remain upright after tiring himself by doing alchaka, he found himself staring down at the floor. In the corner of his eye, he saw something lying under his bed. Taking a deep breath, he knelt down next to it and with a hurriedness that he didn't fully understand just yet, he yanked out the bag he kept under his bed.

Feeling the lump held in his bag, he quickly pulled it out and sat on his bed. In his hands he held the holocron that he'd gotten earlier, its weight feeling like the answer he was looking for. Hesitating only for a second to swallow heavily, he activated it.

"_Greeting. Now, I'll be going over the basics of Force constructs. Tell me when you're ready to begin."_

"…I'm ready."

"_Very good, then let's get started. To begin with, one of the first techniques that the Force gives us access to in regards to Force constructs is a technique dubbed 'the doppelganger'. It is the Force given the shape of something, even the user themselves, which has a limited ability to interact with the world around it and in some cases even use the Force to an extent. Its use is widely discouraged due to the fact that anything the doppelganger feels the user feels as well, however it is also a key technique to learning some of the other techniques that the Force has to offer."_

Naruto's eyes widened at the sound of that, drawing on the Force to help him remember every word that was said. This technique sounded _awesome _and if he found a way to use it…maybe, just maybe, he could be everywhere.

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, I was surprised to learn that the technique "Doppelganger" is an actual real thing in the Star Wars universe. A "Force Clone", if you will. It's obviously limited in how many people use it, but then this is Naruto we're talking about. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't have at least some clones, and…one or two other things. But clones first and foremost.<p>

Just to say this now, he won't be able to go _nearly_ as high as the amount of clones he could use normally due to it messing with his connection to the Force (the "feel what they feel bit"). However, he'll make up for that with the quality of the clones.

For those who don't know, I am not forcing any relationship between Tahl and Qui-gon; they had an actual relationship in the extended universe, and I'm just taking advantage of it.

Also, forgot to answer this last chapter, so my apologies to **rinnegan18.** In answer to your question, _yes_ she will, and so will Naruto. However, Naruto will be learning more about it and it's usage, so stay tuned to see how I've worked that out.

Overall, this chapter was a ton of fun to write. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and next chapter will be the time skip up to when I can actually start getting into Naruto _doing_ things…once he's done with his proficiencies of course. So you can look forward to that, starting on the next chapter of **From Darkness**. Take care!


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Alright, time to begin moving into some of the fun parts of the galaxy! Regrettably, I still do need to finish placing Naruto's friends into their apprenticeship, which means I get to practice writing saber battles. If anyone has critique on ways to improve my saber fighting writing, I'd be happy to hear it.

So, to get to that point, here's chapter 9 of **From Darkness**!

* * *

><p><em>Six Years Later<em>

"Learned much they have, in the ways of the Force."

"True, but some seem more…aggressive about it than others."

Masters Yoda and Windu walked the hallway to the room they'd set aside as the presentation room for the younglings to show their skills and potentially be picked by a master. While they'd observed each year's younglings with open minds, both had already gained some background and knowledge concerning some of them. Yoda did his best to see what lay within each of them, while Windu focused on how that affected their actions; it made the time when they compared what they knew to one another to see what the other saw in their actions and behavior.

Reviewing what he knew, Yoda chuckled softly. "Become a troublemaker, young Uzumaki has. To ensure his place as the Dark Woman's padawan I think."

"We never should have told him that she mainly taught troublesome students." Windu recalled the boy asking how he could make sure that he received training from the Dark Woman, and the slip of the tongue that brought the youngling to continue his prior acts as the Temple Terrorist. "Security has never been the same since he started running around."

"For the best, I think. Better aware, our security is, of its shortcomings and strengths." Yoda remarked. And it was quite true. From the time that Xanatos had entered their temple to now, the difference between how their security operated and functioned was like night and twilight; close enough that people recognized it, but there was an undertone or preparedness that had been strengthened more than before.

"Maybe, but then it's also made him more of a hassle as well. We've had to completely revoke his privileges in regards to our cloaks. I never realized there were so many things a person could do with them… "

"An intelligent boy he is. Perhaps, for the best, that he was chosen by Kuro. Her training methods, different they are." Yoda could see in his mind's eye some of the training he'd witnessed during one visit to her training facility on Ord Namurt. The methods produced splendid Jedi, if a bit different with a dash of darkness they obtained from Kuro's training.

Taking care as they walked towards their final destination, they could hear rather faintly the mutterings of young voices who were all too excited to see how things played out. Each knew that this was going to be one of the big days for their lives as Jedi, and they clearly were looking forward to seeing how each of them would judged.

Seeing Ali-Alann standing not too far away, the duo moved over to stand next to him. The younger master acknowledged their presence silently, eyes looking at each of the students with worried eyes. He didn't know how things would go considering how each of them had taken his lessons in their own unique ways. There were a few who stood out in their own ways, though the ones who he was taking special thought and consideration for were the trouble makers. Especially those who followed Naruto Uzumaki.

Each had progressed during the last five years, showing different directions in which they took their Jedi training. It made things rather difficult for him to fully know how things would turn out since they all had developed skills that their masters would have to take into consideration before they chose them to be their padawan learner. The worst part of it was that some of them he knew had abilities that would not be exhibited in these trainings which would have to wait until they actually were taught by their masters for them to find out about.

"Greetings." Mace Windu said, greeting Ali-Alann quietly as he glanced to the congregation of masters. He was surprised to see a few members of the council present, along with others who were looking to see if amongst these new graduates was the one they'd take to train. No one was ever truly certain about who they'd need, or who they'd want to take. It made things certainly difficult and in many cases frustrating as some masters had waited for quite a long time before they'd found the 'one' who they'd attempt to train.

"Hello Masters, it's a pleasure to have your presence amongst us." Ali-Alaan's eyes never left the students, each sitting around waiting for their turn. They'd shown promise in the tests thus far, having shown knowledge in the Jedi Code, as well as a few of their basic skills. However, the time had come for the one skill so many of them were waiting on.

Lightsaber dueling.

Already they'd gone through most of the bracket, with it coming down to the last eight already. His eyes darted among them, feeling the masters around him looking at them curiously. He knew their abilities quite well, having seen them duel during his training sessions and the previous rounds, with Naruto's group once more coming to the forefront of his mind. Biting the inside of his cheek, he worried though at what he remembered. As such, thinking it would make things a bit more interesting to allow them to show what they could do he'd broken them into four sections of the bracket so that they'd be the last four if they made it.

The upcoming matches were sure to be interesting.

x-=-x

The younglings all squirmed in place, knowing that the masters eyes were completely on them. Most of them weren't used to this kind of attention and many of them felt slightly out of place.

Naruto was not one of those people.

Sitting up completely straight, with the brightest grin and an impish look in his eyes, he softly laughed as he stretched out a bit as he waited for his next battle while Yasuo began his fight. Glancing to the side, they looked back as though they knew he was looking at them. They'd all grown up quite a bit, and each had shown themselves to be quite the amazing group of younglings.

Sheeka had grown quite a bit, though her nature as a Rodian had made her a bit rough around the edges at times. It was something she used to either tame Naruto, or get the boys to do what she wanted. She didn't use it often thankfully, which meant that the boys were more worried when she actually was pushing for something.

Jax had filled out a little bit more, thick set and bulky looking for his age. He was almost as loud and boisterous as Naruto, though his was usually laced with a bit more ribbing of others and provoking them to get into a brawl of some sort. Master Ali-Alann looked down on it, but Naruto and Sheeka were both more than willing to give in to spar with him.

Yasuo, ever their silent but present friend, was almost as lanky as he'd been as a youngling. The youngling was a very astute boy despite being willing to join in with Naruto's shenanigans. Reserved and constantly keeping his eyes open, he was likely one of the people who could make sense of Naruto's occasional ramblings.

And then there was Naruto.

Of their group, Naruto had physically grown, though he was still the shortest of the group. He was what Ali-Alann had called a 'late bloomer', which had led to Naruto standing in the gardens proclaiming he was the greatest flower of them all. Despite his stature, under his tunic there was an undertone of strength, hidden just from view. His personality was still as troublesome and wild as ever, but to those who looked deeper, they'd see the intelligent twinkle in his eyes with each 'activity' he did.

"So, who do think is gonna win?" Naruto asked his friends softly, each of them taking a moment to calm themselves and prepare for their next matches.

"Hm…well honestly I hope it comes down to you and me." Jax said smugly, a toothy grin on his face. "It'll be fun to have the masters watch me knock you on your butt a couple of times, and I bet it'd make a fun show."

"Maybe, but I don't think that's what they'we looking fow." Sheeka said, eyes darting amongst the masters. She was surprised at the turnout, but had noted that some of them had padawan's already, which meant they were just here to see their skills. "They'we gonna watch ouw skiwws, which means we shouwd make it a good show."

Yasuo took a deep breath as he approached the group and sat with them, meditating on what he'd seen of their skills silently. He could tell that of them his skills were likely amongst the highest, but in terms of stamina, power, and finesse, he was only average compared to what his friends were capable of. Glancing to them, there was a slight smirk to his face as he thought about what he'd overheard despite his fight. "I don't think we could give them a bad show honestly."

"Yeah, we're kinda awesome after all." Naruto said with a smirk, nodding happily as he thought about everything he knew of their skills. "I bet we'll all be able to get super awesome masters and be able to do all kinds of things!"

"Naruto, Aklan, you're up."

"Oop, wish me luck!"

Naruto smirked, moving to the dueling circle as he rolled his shoulders. His opponent, a shorter human, shuffled up to the ring looking quite excited as they glanced to the masters. Unclipping his lightsaber and bringing his blindfold over his eyes, he let his arms relax in a basic shii-cho stance as his opponent did the same.

"Begin."

Their lightsabers blurred into motion, quickly colliding for a brief second before bouncing back. The returning strike was met with equal strength, but Naruto didn't let his opponent get the chance to back off. Stepping forward, he brought down his saber close to the boy's hand, but it didn't end up being enough to disarm the boy.

Aklan was aware of Naruto's strategy, and took a step back, saber blade held in a mid-guard to allow himself to guard or defend himself as needed. Naruto just grinned, shifting back into a standard Shii-Cho guard. Of the younglings he had an extra year's worth of practice, and it showed in his stance. Aklan shifted his stance, moving to the more defensive Soresu, trying to make sure that he had more of a chance to stay in the match for as long as he could as well as to study Naruto's style and prepare himself.

A second later, Naruto's saber moved in a blur, the two colliding only for brief seconds. Naruto's movements were clunky, rough, and straightforward as he followed the simplistic Shii-Cho velocities that quickly began moving his opponent into a corner. Being blindfolded made it more difficult, but with all the time they'd spend blindfolded during practice Aklan was able to hold his own for quite a while. The trading of blows seemed truly fair, and if anything Aklan on several occasions seemed to almost get out from Naruto's assault, and on several others nearly knocking his saber from his grip.

However, "He's holding back."

"Hm?" Yoda glanced up to Ali-Alann, who was rolling his eyes at what he perceived as Naruto's antics. "Something amiss Master Ali-Alann?"

"No, it's nothing master. It's just…Naruto has a good grasp on Shii-Cho, but shortly after we introduced the other forms and went over them, Naruto chose a different form to master."

"So what you're saying is, Naruto is letting Aklan make a presentation of his skill, despite this not being his main form?" Mace was able to pick out the discrepancies between their forms, and could see that while Naruto was the 'bully' of the two, Aklan had the better stance between them. He just wasn't able to attack as quickly or as aggressively as Naruto.

Hearing a grunt of exertion, Mace refocused on the fighters themselves. Locked in a saber lock, Mace was able to clearly see the displeasure on Naruto's face. The two were struggling back and forth, only brute strength or backing down being what would decide this section of the fight. Aklan was larger, and used his stature to bear down on Naruto as he let his larger weight begin pressing down on Naruto. Unable to fully handle it, Naruto began buckling under the pressure, knees bending as he began losing the push-and-pull. To his experienced eye though, Mace was able to recognize Naruto's plan seconds before it actually happened.

To the younglings, it looked like the world decided to flip. One second, Naruto was being beaten, pushed down by a combination of strength and weight rather than skill. The next, Naruto was standing behind Aklan completely turned around, with Aklan falling face first into the floor and Naruto's training saber pointed at his back.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki."

"...wait I missed it." Jax finally admitted after a moment, blinking at the shift in the fight. He'd just been betting with Sheeka that Naruto was going to lose at the rate things had been going just a second before.

"And that's why you owe me so much money Jax." Sheeka replied, shaking her head. She'd sparred against him a few time, and while she didn't know _how_ he did what he did, she had learned not to bet against him unless you or his opponent had a clear and distinct advantage against him.

Most of the time it was just best to not bet against him.

"That was a lot of fun Aklan, we should do it again sometime!" Naruto said with a grin on his face as he very friendly congratulated him. All but strutting over to their position, he sat next to them with the biggest grin on his face. "Man, that was a lot of fun!"

"You really need to calm down already." Yasuo muttered, waiting to hear who was called next. He'd noticed what had been happening with the roster, and it was up to who he was paired up against that would determine how things progressed. Though of them, the only one he felt reasonable certain he'd have difficulty with was Sheeka. And with Naruto having just fought, he silently prayed it was Jax.

"Yasuo and Sheeka, you're up next."

He didn't have that kind of luck.

x-=-x

"What do you think of that battle?" Ali-Alann looked to the masters, a curious gleam in his eyes as he considered each silently.

"…he has a lot of potential." Kit Fisto said after a moment, a large grin on his Nautolan face. "I bet with a push or two Aklan might be able to be a very good Shii-Cho master."

"Are you thinking of taking him as your padawan then?" Ali-Alann asked curiously. He'd yet to see the Nautolan take a padawan, and had long been curious to see who he'd eventually take.

He shrugged after thinking it over for a moment, his eyes shifting to the side towards one of the padawans near unnoticeably. "We'll see. There's another three matches after all."

"_So he's looking at one of those four? I'm…not surprised I suppose."_ Ali-Alann sighed, glancing to the others, noting that there was a look of almost interest on Mace's face. "Master Windu, something on your mind?"

"That move, it was one of the Ataru sidesteps wasn't it." It wasn't a question, his eyes staring at the happily chatting Naruto. "But the way it moved from being Shii-Cho to Ataru so seamlessly…I've seen something like that before."

While he knew it couldn't be helped, he'd hoped that they'd give Naruto more time to build up the confusion. It was Naruto's 'secret' after all. "…yes. It's something he picked up from watching Master Drallig during one of his sparring sessions."

"Oh? Very astute to have made something from just watching it." Yoda smiled brightly, already having caught on himself. "Did he ask for instruction as well?"

"Actually as far as I know he didn't." Feeling multiple eyes on him, he explained. "He's been constantly busy, trying to learn everything it seems. Of all the younglings, he's obtained the widest range of knowledge while still being able to hold his own in combat. Then again, between studying and practicing, he was quite often found training while listening to a holocron."

Yoda stared at the boy, thinking over how much the boy likely tried to fulfill his promise to become as good as him in nine years. From the sound of it he'd made leaps and strides in regards to how he'd come, but there was one thing he had known from the start that Naruto had yet to learn that was holding him back. Whether he learned it right away or took his time to figure it out didn't matter, because regardless of whether or not he realized the difference, it would only be when he was out doing things in the universe that he would discover why Yoda's words were as appreciated in matters as they had become.

x-=-x

"Good luck Yasuo." Sheeka slowly pulled down her blindfold, leaving one eye uncovered for a second to view his expression before they began.

Yasuo grit his teeth, wishing that it had been Naruto that he'd been paired against at this point. Pulling down his blindfold, he sank into the Force to feel the world around him. He'd developed his senses specifically for this presentation, knowing that the style he'd been training in would be all but useless if he didn't know where he was and what was around him.

_Snap-hiss._

The duel sound of their lightsabers activating made him grit his teeth. He couldn't afford to hold back against her, and slid his right foot back and spun his saber with both hands held on the saber as he held it to his side. It was a standard Ataru stance, and one which anyone with any training in even the basics of Ataru would be able to recognize.

Across from him, the Force allowed him to 'see' her reply; saber head in front of her face before it was swept downwards in a low guard in front of her right leg. The Makashi Salute. Sheeka had taken to learning Form II, the Contention Form; designed and readily made for saber dueling.

Gritting his teeth, he began spinning into motion. Ataru was all about how much momentum could be built up. Leaping into the air, he attempted to disarm her as quickly as he could by using his momentum at some point. While there were other options, he was a Jedi, and he wanted to show that he had the capability to fight her and defeat her without taking any of the actions that might be considered 'to violent'.

Unfortunately he knew he was already a step behind as her stance shifted, saber a blur of motion. It wasn't meant to knock him away or prevent his attack in any way, but rather to knock his saber away from where he wanted. Landing behind her, he dug his heals into the ground and reversed his swing, aiming for her midsection. Before he'd gotten to her, her presence moved away from him leading him to only hit empty air. Gritting his teeth, he returned to his starting stance before moving forwards.

Fighting blind left him with more of a disadvantage because his preference was to be as much on the offense as he could be. As such, her Makashi stance, which began with a low guard – which was the most defensive of the three guards – made it extraordinarily difficult for him to strike without her having time to redirect his strike. He wished he could just remove the blindfold, as his strategy was one of the few ways he knew to defeat her in outright saber-to-saber combat. Not knowing any other way to take her out, he defaulted to what he knew would work.

As soon as his saber struck hers, he realized that there she'd already figured out his strategy. It wasn't hard to notice, what with him diving straight into combat once more, but it meant that he didn't have nearly as much of an advantage now. Knowing his patterns and style was half of what was needed to defeat him, and Sheeka knew them inside and how.

She'd helped him learn them after all.

He grit his teeth, bullheadedly continuing his reckless march. In his mind's eye, he could see the masters watching him, and the tension of this event began getting to him. Small beads of sweat began rolling down his cheeks as his breath came out in surprisingly ragged gasps. How long had they been fighting? His swings were beginning to be overextended, hitting nothing but air as he wildly sought after his opponent. After one particular swing, he paused and questioned where the follow up was. With such a blatant opening, he was certain she'd have taken advantage of it. And his pause…

Stepping back, he let his saber fall to his side. Slowly shaking his head, he refocused and found her. "…you did that on purpose didn't you?"

"It wouldn't be faiw to beat you at less than you'we best, wight?" Sheeka replied with a giggle, saber reigniting as she prepared herself.

"_When did she even have time…"_ He shook his head, the burning questions distracting him as he tried once more to engage her. Slamming his saber to hers, he felt her spin his saber away from her then suddenly back in the opposite direction. He winced as his wrists strained to hold the lightsaber, the second direction the opposite of where he had been which made his next move. Unable to stop himself from moving forwards, he felt several strikes against his chest and a stinging sensation erupted from each point.

It took him several seconds before what happened made sense, the dull hum of a lightsaber almost right against his chest the sound that brought him to realization. Slowly reaching up, he lifted the blindfold and looked down. The blue blade was poised in front of his chest, her hand over the top of the blade as she pointed it slightly downward towards the center of his chest. While he wasn't the best at reading Rodian facial expressions, he could feel the pleased if not smug expression.

"Winner Sheeka."

"Damn it…" Yasuo pulled off his blindfold, gripping it tightly as he grit his teeth. He had thought that he'd been doing good, and then all of a sudden he was…well if it had been a real lightsaber he'd be dead.

It took him a moment before he realized that Sheeka was saying something. Glancing up at her, he flinched at her worried look. "You okay Yasuo?"

"…yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

Sheeka knew he was lying, but allowed him his moment to sulk in silence. He was inwardly grateful, not wanting to discuss what had just happened.

Sitting down, he sat away from her so that he wouldn't say anything uncouth towards her. She'd won fair and square, and he'd lost. It was that simple. Looking towards the masters, he winced as he saw many more looking at Sheeka with interest than him.

It wasn't fair…it just wasn't fair.

x-=-x

"_Oh…no…"_ Naruto inwardly thought as he stood up against Jax. The boy was larger than him by enough to be very visibly noticeable, and built with more muscle than him as well.

Jax had learned shortly after they'd begun saber training that his midichlorian count was rather low, making his connection to the Force rather weak compared to some other people. With his friends encouragement, he'd not given up on learning to use them to the best of his abilities, but he knew where his strengths lay. Of their group he was the one who was almost always training his physical skills. His friends would occasionally help him with his training, to which he would help them in return as well. This meant they all at least had some understanding of what the others could do.

Which is why Naruto was nervous as he walked up to where Jax had already bounded over to. He'd been holding back on his skills since he'd wanted to wait until An'ya Kuro had returned before he really showed off and let loose. He'd been spending so much time running around trying to get himself as prepared as possible, he'd forgotten that in his fights he'd likely face his friends.

"You're gonna have to show me all you've got if you want to stay standing longer than a minute Naruto." Jax said boisterously, hand already on his saber as he fiddled with the activation switch, but left it off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Naruto muttered, pulling his blindfold over his eyes. Grinning impishly, he flexed his hands and moved into the Shii-Cho starting stance. "Just bring everything you've got. Don't worry, I'll give you all I can in a lightsaber duel and more. That's a promise."

Jax nodded, satisfied with his answer as he pulled his own blindfold down. Instead of Shii-Cho or Soresu, which were the standard starting stances most younglings began in, his was a more aggressive Shien stance. Naruto was surprised by the stance, the implications behind it standing out only too much for him.

"_Welp, now I _really_ can't hold back."_ Naruto inwardly mused that he could get away with it for a little bit, but that he wouldn't be able to have enough energy left for Sheeka. Taking that into consideration, he groaned. "You just had to get good enough at Shien to actually use it didn't you?"

"It fits me don't you think?" Jax said with a grin, the hum of his saber whipping around as he moved forwards. While the instructor hadn't told them to start, Naruto was familiar with his impatient friend and his desire to prove his skills.

Their collision was short-lived, but showed the strength of the two combatants. Jax had multiple advantages that allowed him to overpower Naruto, but once more Naruto vanished from under the blade and spin behind Jax. Had he not been forced to do so earlier, Jax might've missed it and been left with Naruto behind him all to ready to strike.

Spinning on his heels, he slammed his blade in a downwards arc. Naruto was already moving back though, his blade and stance a more defensive one as he prepared for whatever would come. Hearing the hum of the blade Naruto stepped to the side, connecting his blade to Jax's so that he could push it away in a manner similar to how Sheeka had earlier.

Jax frowned at the sudden defensiveness of Naruto. The style didn't feel right for Naruto, but it also didn't make sense that Naruto was being so defensive either. Against an overwhelming attack Naruto's choice was almost always 'hit it till it falls over and cries like a wimp'. The idea of him waiting meant that there was something coming his way.

Right as he thought this, the steps Naruto had been going through came to mind once more. He'd recalled Naruto doing something similar, but when he'd done it he'd followed up with – "Aw nuts."

Naruto was already in midair by the time Jax caught on, Ataru aerial attack almost slamming into his shoulder which would have disabled him and dropped him out of the fight. As it were, he was able to block the attack and stumble back, focusing on the world around him through the Force to find Naruto. It took a second, but by that point Naruto had once more shifted his stance, droid-like motions of Shii-Cho stepping towards him. Shii-Cho. Shii-Cho he could handle.

Right as he began pushing back against the simple assault, he flinched as he heard Naruto's blade come close to his ear. "How in the…you Niman son of a wampa!"

"Language Jax!"

Jax understood his mistake, but he was too busy focusing on trying to duel Naruto. He'd known that Naruto was practicing a little of all of the forms, but he'd missed out on the part where Naruto had been learning Niman, also known as Form VI. It made sense though, as he was always trying to learn everything all at once, and Niman was known for being used by those who wanted to focus on less on the intricate forms and instead give more to the user to be creative in how they used an culmination of the other forms.

If there was anything Jax knew, it was that Naruto was a scary creative combatant.

Jax spun his saber slowly, mind thinking over his options. He wished he were using something longer, perhaps even something that could keep Naruto at a distance or pin him down. Naruto _hated_ locking sabers, as the idea of being that close to something that could cut through durasteel with his face made him scared for his life. It didn't help that Naruto was shorter and had less weight so he couldn't yet overpower him.

Striking at Naruto again, he smirked as he disrupted Naruto's Ataru stance. Capitalizing on it, his grin grew as he heard Naruto squawking indignantly as he stumbled back to avoid being saberlocked. Bringing his saber around in a wide sweep, he internally smacked his head as Naruto leapt in a backwards arc to dodge. He'd foolishly forgotten just how agile and mobile Ataru was despite Yasuo being a common sparring partner.

When he reengaged blades with Naruto, his stance had changed. It took him a moment as their blows went back and forth before he deadpanned and stared at where he knew Naruto was. "Really? You're using the Shien stance? Do you really think –"

Naruto didn't let him finish, their blades locked for only an instant before his blade suddenly slid down towards the pommel of his lightsaber. Balking at the sudden change, he stumbled back to avoid being disarmed; if it were real lightsabers, that statement would be quite literal.

Thankfully part of the form's greatest strength was looked down on in these matches; using the Force in tandem with the user's lightsaber. Not that Naruto needed it, which left Jax perplexed as to how to handle him. Shien wasn't primarily meant to be used in duels like its companion form, Djem So. It was more of an aggressive variant of Soresu in terms of blaster bolt deflection, but the steps were different enough that he couldn't utilize all of his advantages the way he wanted.

Worse still, Naruto wasn't keen on holding still, and his vision was based solely on the Force. Naruto knew that, and had avoided taking advantage of it, which he was silently thankful for.

Right as he thought that, Naruto vanished in the Force. Force Cloak, a technique Naruto had picked up to avoid security, and to make sure that if he were fighting someone like Bruck or Xanatos that at the very least they couldn't find him while they themselves hid. Sighing in disgruntlement, he tried to listen for Naruto's lightsaber. It was the only thing he could try to sense once Naruto, since the only way he could find Naruto was without the Force.

Hearing only the hum of his own lightsaber, he slowly began turning his head as though it would help him find Naruto. Realizing he'd lost Naruto was 'gone', he lowered his lightsaber and groaned. "…he's right behind me isn't he?"

"Nope."

The sound of a lightsaber being activated right under his chin caught him off guard, and he had to slowly push the blindfold up. Finally seeing Naruto, he slowly put his face in his hand. "I hate you…so much. And I will now and forever hate Force Cloak."

"I know you will." Naruto lowered his lightsaber, grinning brightly. Walking up to his friend, he held out his hand. "No hard feelings right?"

Jax stared at Naruto, confused by the question as he took Naruto's hand. "Um, what do you mean? I mean, of course there're no hard feelings, but…"

"Well, when we've sparred before I try not to do stuff with the Force like that because you're still getting the hang of using the Force while fighting. I mean, when I fight…" Naruto vaguely waved his hand around, chuckling sheepishly.

Wincing as he recalled exactly what was considered a 'normal' fight with Naruto, he shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm just glad you didn't break the rules and break _that_ out. I'd have had to call in for some help seeing how annoying it is when you do that."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "Oh come on, I can't beat you when I use that."

"That's when I'm not blindfolded, and we're not being watched by a bunch of masters, including the Council."

"Eh?" Naruto turned around, blinking owlishly at the gathering behind him. "Oh, right. They're here. Um…hi. I did _not _totally forget you all were here…at all."

"…Nawuto you'we a mowon." Sheeka said, shaking her head as though she were disappointed, though secretly she was quite amused.

"Hey! You wanna say that to my face?" Naruto said, pointing to her. "Huh? Well come on then. I'll take you on with four hands tied behind my back."

"Oh?" Sheeka, Jax, and Yasuo all caught on to what Naruto meant by that, and that caused Sheeka to smirk. "Well then, how about we do that then?"

Naruto blinked in confusion, looking back to the board where his name and Sheeka's stood side by side. The implication of it slowly sank in, and Naruto looked between each of his friends. "…oh…oh…oh…ooh.."

"Naruto and Sheeka, come to the center ring for the final match please. It's time for the final round of the demonstration."

* * *

><p>AN: For those who aren't aware, I'm trying to keep Naruto balanced considering he's...well, Naruto. Thankfully, I fixed that last time. If you missed it, it'll be explained as I go on.<p>

Also, the reveal of Naruto's lightsaber form; Niman, Form VI. Chosen for a couple of reason, mostly because I'll be able to have quite a bit of fun with it due to the fact that its idea is basically "take all of the forms, take their strengths and weaknesses, and then get creative." Heeheehee.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you on the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I'm honestly not sure which I'm more surprised by; how fast I'm getting these out, or how many of you awesome people are reading. Thank you all so much for your views, liking and favoriting this story, and for your reviews. They mean a lot to me.

Also, just so you are all aware there's another Naruto/Star Wars story I may be writing soon. I'm not going to writepost it until I get deeper into this story, but **Lawrence Helmbain** offered me a challenge that gave me a few different ideas on something closer to a Sith Naruto. I'm fairly sure I'm going to be taking some things and using them where they weren't meant to be, but then details. Regardless, for those of you who like this story, keep an eye out for when I'll be posting that one as well.

So, without delay, let's dive in!

* * *

><p>The masters watched as the two younglings who'd shown their skills and succeeded in each of their duels stood across from each other. All could tell that there was some form of familiarity with each other's stance, and each seemed to regard each other with a familiar smile.<p>

Several of the masters smiled at the way they regarded each other. There was a competitive, cheerful and silently happy look to each of them as they sized each other up. Each of them was more than competent from what they'd seen, and they both knew it. Yet their expressions were those of two who harbored a healthy rivalry, one without anger or malice, but with healthy competition. It was a refreshing sight for them to see.

Hearing the doors opening, several masters looked to where the newcomer was arriving. All those who were thinking to take a padawan and those where were observing to see the progress of this year's younglings were already here. As such, each of them was confused until they saw the two who entered.

"I apologize for my lateness. I was in the middle of a conversation with Feemor that went long when we were informed of a promising young Makashi student. I was intrigued, and decided to come see if these rumors were true."

"Master Dooku. Unexpected, your arrival is." Yoda regarded the man with a gentle smile, having not seen as much of his old apprentice in a long time. Perking up slightly, he noted and happily regarded the man with him as well. "Feemor, a pleasure to see you as well it is."

"Master Yoda." The soft spoken Jedi Knight smiled to the diminished master, looking between the masters with a hesitant look. "I apologize if my presence is unwanted, I can just –"

"No. No. Stay and sit a while. Much to see there still is." Yoda said happily, patting the seats on the opposite side of himself.

Dooku followed his direction, sitting next to him with a smile. Feemor slowly followed, having been in this room several times, but still feeling off being here. The next question coming was seen from miles away, but still made him wince regardless.

"So Feemor, have you thought about taking on a padawan of your own?" Mace asked, glancing to the man with a curious look. "Although much has happened, you are still highly regarded by Master Qui-gon."

"…soon master. I simply…"

"Alright it is. No pressure we place. In time, an apprentice you'll find." Yoda said, cutting them off to allow Feemor a chance to breath.

The young man gave Yoda a thankful smile, still uncomfortable with the question posed. As he glanced to the arena, he raised an eyebrow as he took note of the two combatants. "I've seen them around before. Are they graduating this year?"

Yoda nodded, eyes going between the two as they pulled their blindfolds over their eyes, lightsabers still not activated as they began pacing around one another. "To rank of padawan they hope to achieve. Another year they have, yet eager they are."

"How curious." Dooku watched their steps, silently taking note of each of their forms. "A Makashi stylist verses a Niman stylist. How curious. Still, while I will stay to see the finale, this battle is already decided."

"Certain of this, are you?" Yoda asked, noting what Dooku had already seen, but knowing there was more to it than that.

"The boy is considered a nuisance, and a troublemaker, but his skills aren't bad in the slightest. However, I know the reason behind his choice of style as well. He will not defeat her."

x-=-x

There was quite some time before the two began the actual duel. Each of them paced the circle silently, breathing slow and level as they reached out to each other in the Force. Silence permeated the air as the tension built, their desire to begin building.

The distance between them was closed in a flash of their sabers activating, fierce flurry of blows trading between the two as each danced around each other. Neither was willing to get into a saberlock, but both wanted distance for now. Each strike moved from tip to center of their sabers as they danced in blue glow became a sphere of power and danger.

Naruto regarded Sheeka with far more focus than he'd regarded any of his other opponents. Of them all he had a lot of fun with, and he'd been able to mess around with Shii-cho. Sheeka hadn't done that; she'd fought straight out with Makashi and struck down each and every opponent she'd had as quickly as possible. Even though some of the other younglings had practiced and trained in Makashi, none had done so as much as Sheeka.

Form VI, Niman, was a powerful form in the hands of a good saber user. It utilized the other forms strengths in a way where it had no strength or weakness, and gave freedom to the user to utilize them as they wished. However, there was one form that was not included in the mashup of forms.

Form II, Makashi.

There was an advantage that Naruto _should_ have had though, in that the form encouraged the use of the Force. Without that, Naruto would need to use other tactics to win. Much sneakier, and much more elaborate planning would be needed.

As such, Sheeka's bladeword was smooth, parrying and dancing around Naruto's strikes at the moment. Naruto's face was twisted into a frown of concentration, while Sheeka's was a smirk of confidence. Naruto's footwork was all but falling apart, and with a fierce thrust she claimed her victory. In that moment, she was reminded of the reality that was fighting Naruto.

Never expect things to be as they are.

As such, she wasn't ready for him to fall over onto his back, his 'bad' footwork kicking his front leg out just as she began her thrust. She didn't overextend, using only the needed effort, but the shock was tangible. Before she could move, the Force billowed out and she had only a second to backpedal before she was struck in her leg by a spin kick.

"Nawuto that's not faiw and you know it." Sheeka said with a growl in her voice.

"Who said I was fighting fair? I'm not able to use the Force to throw you around, so I'm improvising." Naruto said; his frown from before now a very feral grin. "Besides, I'm always the best kind of challenge."

Before she could say anything to the contrary, she was stepping forwards to engage him again. Right as their blades met she felt the shift in how they met and deftly sidestepped, the hum of Naruto's lightsaber cutting through the air where she had once stood. Right before she took a breath, she realized that the attack had come from the side rather than the top and had to duck under another blow.

"Oh cwap."

The flow of the battle had shifted, and Sheeka hated it. Their group had sparred on multiple occasions, and the battles were never set into any sort of pattern. Occasionally one of them would triumph while the others fell, but there was one consistent that they could count on; Naruto was going to do something weird and stupid, and it had a fifty-fifty chance of throwing everyone off.

This was one of those times.

She knew how to keep her feet under her thanks to the amount of times she'd had to fight him, so she was able to keep from being overwhelmed. Naruto didn't mind her keeping up with him, relishing in the chance to continue to show off his skills. Sweeping his sword around, the blade came in an uppercut that barely missed her face as she hopped back.

She could feel the heat of the battle getting to her, a sheen of sweat dripping down her face. The Force warned her to the slight bits of sweat that had come from the both of them and likely from other competitors. How long had these battles been going on? Drawing on the Force, she tried to expel the tension and exhaustion from herself as she shifted to a low guard for defense.

Naruto had a bit of sweat gleaming down his face as well, his breathing far less heavy though showing that he could still keep going. He didn't bother calling on the Force for what she was, his natural stamina more than enough to last for quite a bit. Moving to a high guard, he paced the arena as he prepared himself.

"You're always the most observant of our group…and the hardest to fight." Naruto said with a chuckle. "I'm so glad it was you that I got to fight in the end. You're the one that always gives me the most trouble."

"Yeah…well you'we the one I wanted to fight last too. I've been to tiwed to do anything aftew if I'd fought you fiwst." Sheeka muttered, shaking her head. Unlike Naruto, her steps were smaller and more coordinated. She was going to need to be more reactive so that she could break apart his moves and take advantage of any opening. Any _real_ opening at least.

High guard had little to no defense, but if she moved in at the wrong time she'd end up getting her saber knocked out of her hand and lose. As such she was grateful that she was in a low guard and able to knock his next strike to the side, keeping from a direct confrontation. Unfortunately she was too late to remember that Naruto wasn't fighting by normal customary rules. As such when she moved out of the way, she wasn't able to avoid the hilt of Naruto's lightsaber on the backswing.

Stumbling forwards, she kept her grip on her position and turned around. She felt Naruto charging forward, and sensed it was likely the last strike of the match. Stepping forward she prepared to engage in the clash, only to slip on some of the sweat and stumbled forwards. There was a sound ahead of her that caught her off guard, but before she could think on it, her head collided with something really hard and the pain and exhaustion caused her to pass out.

Next to her, Naruto was in a similar position. Having also slipped on the moisture around him, his head had collided with Sheeka's roughly. Both of them lay sprawled out, completely out of it. Then, with a groan of pain, Naruto gripped his head and slowly sat up. Barely holding his grip on the floor, he eventually got to a seated position and picked himself up.

"…um, winner Naruto Uzumaki."

x-=-x

Silence permeated the room as they considered what just happened. The masters all spoke softly, evaluating what they'd just seen. It had been an unexpected, and unprecedented shift in events.

"…how…interesting." Dooku said with a small sliver of a smile on his lips as he closed his eyes. "Of course, what is seen by the eyes is deceiving. How naïve of me to have believed that."

"The mind of a youngling, perplexing it is." Yoda said, smiling at Dooku's humbled expression. "Naruto in particular, a difficult mind to challenge it is."

"Their skill in combat is certainly something to be admired. However," Mace shook his head as he reviewed the fight once more. "Naruto's victory was only because he used moves not taught by the Jedi Order."

"If you don't mind me saying so," Feemor paused as he had everyone's eyes on him. "…isn't that the point of Niman? To use everything one can learn, so as to avoid being defeated by being what other people expect? To be unpredictable?"

The masters nodded, each knowing that Feemor was right, but also not liking the fact that Naruto's move wasn't what they saw out of normal lightsaber combat. It was cheating what they knew, but it was also a tactic that anyone who wasn't a Jedi would use. Many a Jedi had lost their life because they'd underestimated a technique like that. It wasn't something they _wanted_ to have to teach the younglings, but was a reality that many of the masters here had discovered.

Dooku closed his eyes, the recent battle on Galidraan where so many had died under his 'command' fighting the True Mandalorians played through his mind. Techniques designed to kill Jedi had been engraved in his mind as he recalled the dangers they posed. It was a very real thing, and perhaps it was for the best that at least one Jedi, or even a few, were able to understand that there was more out there in the world and more possibilities than just the belief and techniques of the Jedi. He himself was looking into understanding more, trying to understand what he could do to prevent things like that from happening again.

"He'll make a good student for certain. And if he doesn't, he will learn the hard way what it means to be my apprentice."

Most of the masters jumped at the voice, startled by the cold voice that came from seemingly nowhere as An'ya Kuro slowly faded into existence in the middle of them all. Her eyes stared piercingly at Naruto, the boy kneeling next to Sheeka as he tried to make sure she was alive, or at the very least 'not dead' from the blow to her head. Already her mind was going through what she could go over with him, and knowing what he'd learned so far gave her a clear-cut idea of where she could take him.

"Dark Woman." Dooku would never admit it aloud, but her appearance terrified him for a brief instant. In that moment, he could think of a plethora of ways in which she could take out the entire room. In another, he realized that he hadn't even begun to consider how one would do things like that with the Force. What would happen if a Force user decided to do exactly what she did, and then… "I didn't expect to see you here. I…am to suppose that you're here to become a master to one of these students?"

"Naruto. I've already spoken to the council, letting them know that I was waiting till the Force told me to return." Tapping her chin gently, she considered what she'd seen of his performances. "He is much less refined than I thought he'd be by this point honestly, but then if he's been practicing Niman it's likely that he has far more hidden up his sleeves in terms of skill seeing how we don't test the full extent of a youngling's skills."

Feemor blinked as he considered that. "But, younglings don't learn more than what they're taught by the instructors. I mean, there are some who receiving mentoring but even so mastering the skills and learning them are two separate things."

"Oh, I never meant that he mastered them by any stretch of the imagination. There's so much more refinement to be done before anyone can even possibly conceive themselves a master at any such thing." Pointing to Naruto, her eyes took on a sharp, almost pleased look. "That boy is ready to learn anything. To master everything. And I'm more than willing to break it into him the way I best know how."

A couple of the masters flinched worriedly as they all had hellish ideas of what she might do. There were horror stories about what her students went through, even though there was no grounds to prove any of them in the slightest.

"Isn't that true about most every youngling?" Feemor recalled his own time as Qui-gon's apprentice, his own mind had been so bright and filled with hopes. He'd been so bright, and wanted so much and…

Shaking his head, he froze as that thought washed over him, and his eyes stared at the younglings again. He'd thought that he'd make a good master at some point, but after what happened with Xanatos he'd been considered as a failure by his master as well. It had made everything that Qui-gon ever said about him being a good master feel null and void. But these children weren't looking at this the same way he was; their eyes were filled with hopes and dreams the likes of which he'd forgotten. Feeling Master Yoda's gaze on him, his head fell slightly. "Master…"

"Much insight, working with younglings gives, mm?" Yoda's wrinkled, knowing smile crossing his face as he saw a new spark of hope within the Jedi Knight. Perhaps he'd take on a padawan, and pass on the skills and training that had been at one point bestowed to him.

x-=-x

"Naruto, can you get me the data for the Chommell Sector?"

"Yes Master Tahl!"

Naruto sprinted through the archives, dodging Bant and sliding under a table as he raced to where the nearest access port was. Quick keystrokes brought up the sector, and a few seconds downloading it onto a data card was all it took to finish the relatively simple task. Turning to Bant, he made a throwing gesture to her. "Bant, catch!"

"Oh no you don't! I won't play part in that again." Bant said, grinning as she stepped back. "You get it to her yourself."

Naruto pouted, rolling his eyes at her defiance. "Oh come on, it was one time."

"It was many more times than that, and I'm pretty certain that multiple times you did it on purpose."

"I did not…well, not the first few times. Those I was trying to stop it but you made it curve into your head." Naruto scratched the back of his head, already on the move to where Tahl was standing, her own hands moving over the keyboard of another further computer. "Here you go master."

"Thank you Naruto." Tahl didn't move, her hands moving with a gentle motion as she brought up the sector where her next mission was going to be.

When Naruto finally approached her, he found himself pausing and looking from her to the computer. "…wait, master? Why'd you ask me to pull up the Chommell Sector if you can do it? And…that's, not the Chommell Sector. Is this a delivery then?"

"Sort of." Tahl admitted, patting his head. "It's for another Master and her new padawan. I just want to make sure that it's ready for when she gets here."

Tahl's ability to view her surroundings in the Force had grown in leaps and bounds over the last six years, to the point where she had gone from needing her 'seeing-eye droid' to being able to move around the temple freely, participate in lightsaber sparring, and even point out things to people who were supposedly able to see far better than her. She'd even been able to extend it to the point where she could sense the world around her in a way that allowed her to see completely around her. It had made life rather difficult for Naruto, as he couldn't sneak up on people around her without her giving away his position.

Naruto shrugged, not sure what else to think of the information as he placed the data card on a table. "Oh, okay then. Well getting information like that isn't all that hard, so I guess it gives me something to do when I'm not practicing."

"Practicing? Oh you mean the doppelganger technique?"

"Yup!" Naruto preened at their remembering his technique, the technique having been a life saver on a couple of occasions.

"How's that been going Naruto?" Bant asked, a worried look in her eyes as she too recalled some of what Naruto had done with the technique. He'd completely run circles around the two of them before he'd had his access to the archives revoked for a couple weeks. He's been very upset about that and had done all he could to avoid doing that more in the future.

Naruto looked to her, pointing at her. Before she could try to think of what he meant, his voice came from directly behind her. "It's going great!"

Jumping in the air, she brought her hand down sharply. Not seeing that coming, Naruto grunted as she smacked his jaw and knocked him to the floor. Slamming down headfirst, the other Naruto flinched as he rubbed his head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"But you did that thing again." Bant pointed to Naruto, then to the doppelganger, or was it the original? "Dang it all Naruto, you can't do this to me. You know how much I hate not knowing which one of you is the real one!"

"Haha, I'm the best." The Naruto on the floor said seconds before he faded away.

"Don't worry, I don't make you have to guess which one is the real me…not until you get better at guessing at least." Naruto smirked, his hands behind his head as he chuckled softly at her annoyed expression. "Oh come on, it's been years of me trying to get this down to be perfect. You'd have thought you could tell which was the real me by now!"

Bant had a retort in mind, but it caught in her throat as she saw the person approaching from behind Naruto. Recalling the last time she'd seen them, she slowly waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure just having a bit more time will help me figure it out. What do you think Dark Woman?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, staring at Bant as he tried to tell if she was bluffing or not. "…no. No you can't be serious."

"Can she?"

Standing completely straight, he turned on his heels and found himself staring up at an old familiar face. His eyes held a twinkle in them as he addressed her with glee. "Master Kuro!"

"Indeed." Kuro nodded, not actually looking at Naruto as she walked over to Tahl. "Do you have the data card prepared?"

"Of course. Naruto has it right there." Tahl pointed over her shoulder, directly at said object.

Naruto looked between her finger and the data card. "Master Tahl, you're ability to 'see' is really awesome. Maybe one day I'll be that good at sensing stuff."

"Maybe. But then, you have other training to take care of don't you think?" Tahl asked, recalling all that she'd seen him going through. He'd done so much to try and learn everything all at once in the beginning, that he'd ended up stumbling over his own feet and got frustrated by his lack of success. "Remember how long it took for me to sort you out last time you tried to do something like that?"

"…we do not speak of it." Naruto muttered, remembering how that fiasco had ended up.

"But we _do_ remember it." Bant said, huffing as she recalled what had happened. "I still flinch whenever I hear –"

"I said we do not speak of it!" Naruto said, anger mark on his forehead as he jabbed a finger at her.

Kuro glanced to Tahl, unspoken question getting a shake of her head. It was like Naruto said; they do not speak of it.

Realizing she'd get no answers from them, she decided it wasn't worth it to press the matter. "Well then…in that case, it's time I depart."

Snapping back to her, Naruto's eyes were wide wish shock. "But-but you just got back! I thought that when you returned that we –"

"Grab the data card. We're heading to the Chommell Sector in one hour. Grab your supplies, and I'll meet you in the hanger." Kuro turned on her heel and made her way out of the archive, moving quickly in the direction of the hanger bay.

There was an all-consuming silence between the three of them as they took in what had just happened. Slowly, Naruto pointed to himself in confusion. "Wait…I…what?" Taking it in, he jumped as it finally clicked. Letting loose a loud whoop of excitement, he raced forward and made a wild dash to his rooming to get his stuff ready. "Yes Master Kuro!"

Bant shook her head at how that had transpired. "It'd be just like Naruto to get a weird master. Then again…maybe she'll be good for him. Actually get him to use his head for more than polishing the floors."

"Be nice Bant. Naruto's come a long way from where he once was." Tahl said with a soft laugh. "If anything, he's right. You're perception abilities should be leaps about where they currently are seeing how I'm you're master. Perhaps we should change that with a training session at some point?"

"…um…" Bant wasn't sure what to make about that, but could sense that she wouldn't be let off the hook so easily. "Y-yes master. Of course."

Her back still turned to her padawan, her smile grew slightly larger. While she wasn't being vindictive, she had grown a bit of a soft spot for the young man. He had a lot of potential, and his game of playing hide-and-guess was something that was so strange and out of the norm for what other people normally learned. He made everything with an extra dash of fun and excitement that no one else could match.

And if it meant that she was to remind her student to enhance the skills that would allow her to beat Naruto in the games, while teaching her life-long useful techniques, then that was just a bonus.

x-=-x

Deep in the darkness of space, a small freighter flew towards its destination in the distance. Onboard, the pilot gently tugged at his collar as he tried to focus on the mission at hand. Taking a deep breath he shifted the controls on his ship to bring it in from the dark side of the moon, just out of range of the planets sensors. With careful, practiced motions, he began his decent onto the planet.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed as he took it down slow. Pressing a few buttons, the control panel began showing the path he needed to take to fly under the radar to avoid detection. Although there were plenty of ways in which to be found, he'd found from two previous trips that avoiding their security on the route provided not only proved to be the most profitable, but the easiest as well. Whoever it was that got them this information was _very_ skilled; something he could appreciate in his line of work.

As he turned, he heard some of the loose cargo in the hold shifting slighting as the artificial gravity shifted to help him arc around the final level of sensors that were allegedly on the planet's surface. The idea of what he was doing was rather silly in hindsight seeing how there were many other _legal_ ways to get this done. However, he certainly wasn't complaining, as he was getting paid, and that's all that needed to matter in the end for him.

As he got closer, something caught his eyes that made his body go ridged. Eyes darting to the flashing light on his console, he worried silently that he'd made a mistake and been caught. No, that couldn't be. He was the best at what he did for a reason. But then, mistakes happened. Perhaps they'd moved a tower to somewhere closer to his landing site? That would be most unfortunate, and would require him to turn back.

Worriedly, he flipped the channel, knowing he couldn't leave the channel silent for too long without drawing suspicion from whoever was on the other line. To his relief, he saw a familiar face rather than the face of an enemy.

The voice was simple, straightforward, and demanding. "Report."

"I'm on route, everything is going as planned. The pathway provided is proving to be a great boon to us. With this I should be able to get the final survey information." The man said, his voice a bit more quiet than he'd have liked, but then he was still on the lookout for patrols or other such forces that could throw a wrench in their plans.

"Good, very good. I want you to keep me updated, as to the status of the project. Your report is promising captain. I most certainly hope, that our _faith_ in you was not misguided."

Shaking his head sharply, he scowled. "No, not at all. I'm simply ensuring that everything is in position. The Chommell Sector may have its independence from the Republic in some matters, but there's only so much that they can keep from the universe. Soon we'll have the final pieces to show to your people, and they can make whatever choice it was you wanted them to make."

"Careful now. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you of some sort of treachery…"

The threat hung in the air, but both of them knew it was purely unnecessary. "I'm just here to do my job and get paid. If my job involves me helping you get a profit than what do I know. I'm just here to drop these off, sit back, and make sure everything gets done right without them being alerted to your presence beforehand. Or at least, the wrong people."

"Mm, yes this is true. If you are found, you are to leave at once. We cannot have you or your information traced back here. Should you fail, two surveys of the world's plasma core should be more than enough to convince the people of my planet to take action. Am I understood?"

The pilot bowed ever so slightly, blond hair falling over his face. "Of course Viceroy. As you have been informed…I am yours to command."

* * *

><p>AN: Alrighty then! This was an interesting chapter to write, and it's made me very happy to do it because there's <em>so much<em> extended universe out there that's just kind of...floating. I'm not going to get nearly all of it added to the story seeing how much I'll be using for certain parts, but there's so much I _can_ use. For example, Feemor is a real Jedi; he's the first apprentice to Qui-gon who he dismissed as a success because of Xanatos, despite being a Jedi Knight at the time. Things we can all learn.

Also, to those who said that "balance is boring"...yeah. It is. But then, that's what the Jedi push. Balance and control. So sorry to disappoint anyone looking for a Uber God of All Time Naruto, but this Naruto isn't going to be Yoda level by age 13; he's gonna put up a good fight and make Jedi concerned for the boy's mental health though. After all, it wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't do something over the top and stupid. Plus, while it _is_ Naruto, it's in the Star Wars universe. It needs a good build up, because to many people are doing stuff from the shadows, so the fighting (it'll be there) isn't _always_ the main focus. Don't worry. It'll come.

So, hopefully I helped quell anyone who was worried that the story won't eventually pick up, and I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darknes**!


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars. Just the ideas and a few OC's that allow me to have fun with this story.

* * *

><p>Travelling to the Chommell sector was almost peaceful and quiet, after all hyperspace a rather quiet place. For those who could find something to do in their spare time, it was much less so.<p>

An'ya Kuro knew of _many_ things that could be done while traveling through hyperspace. She'd been able to concoct several different methods during her training of Jon Antilles, and as such was always ready with several simple items that she could move between areas so as to keep her students occupied. There were so many different possibilities for her to use after all, and with what she'd seen of Naruto, she'd need to bring things he wouldn't expect.

"Yeowch!" She could hear his cry of pain but ignored it silently as she looked over the information she had for their mission.

There was something going on that the security of the planet had been unable to locate as of yet, but had seemed relatively harmless up until someone had been killed. Then things had escalated quite a bit, though there was still no progress made in favor of their security forces. Not wanting to risk it, they'd requested assistance from the Jedi, though it wasn't all that urgent that anyone would take it right away under normal circumstances. Under those same circumstances whatever was going on would go unchecked and possibly disastrous.

"I can't even – ow! Stop that!"

She wasn't that sort of person though. While looking for a possible mission to start Naruto on, she'd felt something about this mission was necessary for the two of them, and deemed it necessary to take care of as soon as possible. There were a few others they'd attempt to take afterwards, depending on time, but it was more than likely they'd be forced to return to the Temple first and foremost to report in when all she really wanted and needed was to continue following the guidance of the Force to continue educating Naruto.

"I will end you!"

Of course, it couldn't just be that simple either. Someone was doing something on the planet, and if they had gone to the extent that they were willing to kill to hide it, even if only one person, that was still too much as it was. Resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, she considered meditation instead, needing to delve a bit into the Force to assist her in finding out what to look for.

"You evil metal beasts, I'll break you to pieces!"

Deciding she'd finally had enough of his shouting, she turned in her chair and headed to the main area, making sure to keep just out of the main area to prevent the floating training sphere's from targeting her.

Naruto had only gone through space travel once before; when she'd brought him to Coruscant. As such, he'd been unprepared for the cabin fever effect to take hold of him, and had been getting rather stir crazy. In terms of time between Coruscant and the Chommell System, it wasn't all that long, but to make certain he was kept with something to keep his mind on, she'd offered to begin training now. He, naively, agreed straightaway.

Now, two days later, she finally decided he'd had enough. Though mainly it was due to the fact he was getting quite frustrated with how poorly he was able to dodge the orbiting devices, remembering all too well that they hurt. Seeing him look at her, he shakily gave her a thumbs up.

"And what have we learned from this experience Naruto?" Kuro asked, watching his eyes snap between each of the devices.

"Never forget your lightsaber…even if all you have is a training saber…" Naruto said, yelping once more as he was shot in the back of his knee by one that had gotten behind him.

Kuro nodded sharply, waving her hand to the droids to stop them. "Very good. Remember Naruto, a Jedi's lightsaber is more than just some blaster or other weapon. It's an extension of yourself, a part of you that you much take care of in the same way you must take care of yourself."

"But…what about the Force? Isn't that…like the Force?" Naruto asked, remaining in a defensive stance.

"In a way, yes. But the Force is to flow through you, and you guided by it. A lightsaber is given purpose by your actions, and as such is given purpose by the Force through you." Kuro knelt next to him, waiting patiently for Naruto to follow suit.

Naruto didn't catch on straight away, or perhaps was simply remaining obstinate. It wasn't the best trait for a Jedi, but then she didn't raise conventional Jedi. "Yeah, I remember something like that being taught during our training with the battlemaster. I still don't get it, but…eh, I'll figure it out."

"And if you don't, you will learn. The hard way if need be." Kuro said sharply, motioning to Naruto to show her his wounds. Slowly, he removed his shirt so that she could see the blaster marks underneath. Some of them were actually looking rather dark, likely from having been shot in the same spot multiple times. So he had holes in his defense. That was good to know. The others though, "Are you practiced in the art of Force Healing Naruto?"

"Huh?" Naruto glanced down at his injuries, noting that some of them had already vanished. "Uh, yeah little, but I'm not really any at it."

"…curious." She muttered softly, placing her hand on one of the larger marks. Closing her eyes, she channeled the Force into him and began working to repair the bruises so that he wouldn't be hindered by them. The smaller ones could stay as a silent reminded for him to learn to dodge next time.

Finishing up, she glanced to the cockpit and motioned Naruto to follow. Opening communication channels, she found her eyes darting across the world before her before determining where they needed to go. "Tower, this is the Dark Woman of the Jedi, requesting access to land."

There was a brief silence from the tower before they signaled back. "Roger that, the hanger has a spot prepared for you. Please send in your verification codes."

Quickly entering the codes into the panel, she hummed softly as she heard Naruto enter behind her.

"Whoa!" Naruto bounded up to the front, eyes wide as he took in the planet. "Is that where we're going?!"

"Yes Naruto. Welcome to Naboo."

Naruto took in the sight with silent awe. He'd never seen his home world from space, having been preoccupied with hiding from GH-7. While Coruscant was quite the sight to behold, each world had its own view, and personality, making the approach to each a different and unique experience. Naboo could be considered closer to what his homeworld looked like from space regardless, so if needed he could always use this as a reference point.

Hearing the buzz of the com signaling she'd been approved, she moved in to land. Naruto quickly hopped up on the seat next to her, strapping in and taking it all in. Seven years had passed since the last time he'd had this sight as well, and he relished it with the enthusiasm of an adrenaline junkie. Seeing the heat of the atmosphere as she flew down to the planet waiting below, feeling the subtle shakes as their descent drew them into the planets gravity; all of it made his emotions roll off in excited waves as he strained against his restraints to take it all in.

It took only minutes before they landed on the planet, but even as they landed Naruto was moving to see it all. The hanger bay was wide as it was tall, meant for even larger ships than their own to land and enter if they so choose. The nature of Naboo was to use only their own resources and create things that were unique to the universe around them rather than become industrialized much like many other planets had. As such, the archway that lead in, the walls around them, and many of the ships from Naboo were sights to behold and gave much for Naruto to see as he squirmed in place.

"_How can he still have so much energy?"_ Kuro thought, watching as Naruto not only was capable of moving around fairly freely despite his injuries, but was even able to strain his neck to see over the console to see the few guardsmen who were approaching the ship. _"Even after two days of training, he's still up and ready to go. Then again…he's more than likely using the Force to even keep him upright at the moment."_

Reaching out through the Force, she sighed as she confirmed that her suspicions were correct; the Force was flowing through him, helping keep him with the energy he'd normally have otherwise, as well as keep him from thinking on his other needs. Which begged the question; how much did she need to put him through to make him fall to his limit?

Deciding that'd be an exercise for later, she moved to the doors with Naruto at her heels. Opening the ramp, she gave a slight bow to the men as she approached. They in turn gave small bows back. "Thank you for the assistance master Jedi. We know it's a longshot, but –"

"We were need here, and thus we came." Kuro said quickly, getting the man to stop sheepishly before she continued. "How has progress been on the subject?"

"Not that good. We've sent several landspeeders to the area where he was killed, but there's no sign of what killed him or of any disturbance besides what killed him. If anything it looks like he was killed at random rather than attacked for any purpose." The man pulled out a data card, quickly handing it over to her. "Regardless, we don't feel that's the case, and would appreciate any assistance you can provide us with."

Kuro hummed softly, plugging the chip into a projector. Her eyes reviewed the information quickly, noting the paths to the area, and noted one that stood out for being the most direct route. "Can you take me there? My padawan and I will resume matters at the site and see if we can bring up anything."

Glancing down to the young boy next to her, the man seemed hesitant to reply, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course. Please, this way."

x-=-x

"So, it's true that the Jedi take young children on their missions then?"

Kuro nodded, eyes in front as she continued to review the information over and over. She felt nothing from the Force, but keeping the information in mind for later purposes would allow her to access it so that losing it would be of no issue. "Only those that were assigned or asked to take a padawan learner. Naruto is mine, though he's still much to learn."

The young man nodded, glancing back quickly to where Naruto was. No longer needing to keep up his energy for the time being, he'd allowed himself to fall asleep in the back of the speeder. "…he's just a kid. You'd never imagine he'd one day grow up and become a Jedi like yourself."

"True, but then you never expected to join the Guard when you were at his age did you?"

"Well, it was part of our mandatory service. At that point in time, I wasn't cut out for the Legislative services, and…well I found myself more at ease thinking I was making some sort of difference in the world." The man said sheepishly, sounding rather embarrassed by his confession.

"…you'd likely get along with Naruto, if he still holds the same ideals that he held when I met him so long ago." Kuro said softly. Looking up from the display, she switched it off and focused on the landscapes changed. "Stop here."

"But we're almost there." The young man slowed the speeder to a halt, which awoke the sleepy Naruto in the back. "Why are we stopping?"

Kuro didn't bother asking, instead exiting the speeder and began looking around. Something about the area didn't feel right. It felt colder than the rest of the areas they'd gone through. More uncomfortable.

Naruto, rolled out of the speeder, still extraordinarily sleepy as he tried calling on the Force to help him focus. It didn't help that his stomach was growling heatedly for food as he stumbled behind her. "Master? What is it?"

"…I don't know." She replied honestly, eyes still searching through the trees for some sign of life or disturbance.

"Oh…okay." Naruto yawned widely, walking over to one of the nearby perlote trees. Stumbling around it, he hummed as he tried to get awake enough to assist with the investigation.

Stepping deftly into the swampy area, Kuro reached out to another tree and pressed her hand against it. Through the Force, she was able to connect with the tree, and soon with others in the area. Focusing further, she attempted to go as deeply into the swamp as the Force allowed her, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Feeling multiple presences around the area, she frowned took note of them, but determined that they were harmless.

After a few minutes, she finally found something of note. "Naruto, follow me."

Naruto's head snapped around to her, hand coming up in a salute almost instinctively. "Yes Master Kuro!" Struggling after her through some muck he'd gotten stuck in, he bounded after her. Coming up to a tree that she seemed to have a particular interest in, Naruto blinked in confusion. "What is it?"

"Here." She said, kneeling next to the base of the tree. Brushing her hand across the roots, she found that there was a burn mark against the base, and a hasty attempt to brush up the area near where she was kneeling.

"…did someone lay down here?" Naruto asked curiously, seeing the indentation as well.

"No, but someone was likely shot here."

"But, why?"

Kuro's face was grim as she considered what that meant. While it was clear why they'd have done it, the reason beneath that was obscure to her. The fact that the man had been shot near the tree meant that he'd likely had a pursuer, someone who wanted to ensure that he was unable to report back what he'd seen.

Naruto hummed softly, his limited experience and knowledge not bringing up anything. From his vantage point though, he did notice something she didn't.

In the distance, a group of droids with some sort of heavy equipment were floating across the muck of the swamp towards a destination unknown. With them was some sort of orb droid, the droid twitching and swiveling as it followed every so often. Curious, Naruto sloshed over to see if he could catch up and follow them. Before he could even get close to where they had been, he feel over as he tripped over a root and landed face first in the mud.

Coughing and sputtering, he shook his head and winced. Rubbing his eyes, he looked up to see if he could still see the droids, but whatever it was he'd seen were long gone by this point.

"…that was weird." Naruto muttered. Thinking it over, it might've been a vision of some sort, but why the Force would show him something so weird and off putting to him was lost on him. Then again, he still had a burning distaste for droids after all the bad encounters he'd had.

"Is something wrong Naruto?" Kuro asked, watching his fall with some curiosity. She'd been caught up in her thoughts that she'd only caught a glimpse of what passed by. Recalling that she'd felt the presences before, she figured that it was likely just them, and ignored it.

"Um…no? I don't…think so." Crossing his arms, Naruto shook his head to try and get some of the mud off his face and out of his hair. "Ugh, the swamp smells funky."

"There will be far worse places for us to go later. For now, focus on what we are doing here and now."

Naruto nodded sheepishly. "Yes master."

Running her hand through the grass once more, she closed her eyes. The Force said nothing to her regarding this spot, or the person who'd been killed here. Whatever happened here was being blocked by a feeling of uncertainty, fear, and frustration.

Slowly opening her eyes, she determined that nothing more could be learned from remaining in this area. Moving back to the speeder, she motioned for the young man to continue as she hopped in. Naruto scrambled after her, silently thankful that the man had enough consideration to remember him and wait until he'd joined them before taking off.

"Did you find something?" The man asked, eyes focused forwards as he concentrated on the road.

"…perhaps. However, I require more evidence to prove my theory before jumping to any such conclusions." Clicking her tongue, she shook her head. "The Force is…uncertain. Something is here, of this I am certain, but who or what I don't know. Most curious of all, is that whatever the reason, if I'm right then that means that I'll have to determine the why, and the next area should give me a clue."

"Ah." The man seemed satisfied with that answer, and a bit more relaxed about it as well. "That's really quite something, to be able to find that hidden away so quickly. I…it was just some tree in the forest, but you found it without any troubles."

"All thinks are possible through the Force." She replied, getting a slight perking up from Naruto.

"All things…" Naruto muttered, nodding to himself.

It wasn't something he'd heard all that often, but the words still said a lot to Naruto. The Force was a very expansive thing, and seemed to never stop being a mystery to him. But if that were true, perhaps he could even one day understand the very nature of the Force. After all, if the Force was willing, it was like Kuro said; all things were possible for him.

Pulling into the clearing, Kuro had to avoid sighing heavily. To her, it was clearly a set up. The area alone was lighted quite perfectly through the trees, laying on the one area where the man had been lain. It was likely not _intended_ that way, but as she once more leapt from the speeder, she found herself wondering how much the Guard had actually looked into this incident.

Then again, they'd called the Jedi on the matter, so it was possible something here had gotten them stuck.

As Naruto began attempting to get out, she held up her hand. "Stay in the speeder Naruto. I shouldn't be long, and you require rest."

"But-but master Kuro!" Naruto tried to protest but was cut off by a flat look. Grumbling about how it was unfair, Naruto sat back and lay down. "Okay, fine…"

Satisfied by his response, she returned to looking at the scene. It didn't make sense. The clearing wide, and the pass was narrow with a lack of much foliage, which meant it was likely a commercial path at one point in the past. From the look of the path, it had likely even been cleared recently for speeders and the like to traverse from city to city without anything hindering them. Yet in this spot there was a particularly large break in the trees which allowed for the sun to pour in unhindered by the leaves to illuminate the area to anyone passing through.

So why had someone taken the time to remove a body from its better position in the forest to move it here?

Inspecting it further, she hummed as she continued to look through the clearing. Sensing Naruto had gone to sleep, she shook her head. Perhaps she'd been tougher than she'd first realized if he'd passed out after that much exertion. Though he had put up a very good fight for being weaponless for two days.

Clearing her mind to refocus on her work, something occurred to her. "If he were moved, where are the footprints?"

"I'm sorry?" The young man asked, blinking at the strange question.

"I am quite convinced that the man's body was moved from its position in the forest here, so where are the footprints of our mysterious assailant? Or perhaps even, where are the marks to show how this man arrived in this clearing in the first place?"

The man looked around the area, trying to understand what she was looking at. Seeing only the gentle indentations that had been left by the people who'd found him, he found himself at a loss as well. "Perhaps he followed the road and the person caught him on the road?"

Kuro considered that. It was a long shot, but then it wasn't impossible either. Which meant she'd have to travel further up the road to find where he'd broken off to enter the swamp.

Sensing that his presence was more of a burden than a help, the man took a step back. "If you'd like, I can return to the port and come back when you need. I don't wish to be a burden to your work master…um."

"You may call me the Dark Woman." She replied smoothly, ignoring his nervousness and wariness. It was common for many people who were first meeting with the Jedi, though she was somewhat more imposing of a figure at times. "And I don't mind. I have my comlink with me, so when I'm ready I'll message you for assistance with my return. Although I likely will return on foot regardless; there are many things here which I feel I need to check before I return to the city."

The man nodded, bowing again to her. "Thank you Dark Woman. Don't worry, I'll come as soon as you need me."

Hearing the speeder making its way back to the city, she was happy to have her focus fully on the subject at hand. With no distractions, she knew that the case would likely be more easy to smooth out. Whatever it was that had been sought out, she'd find it and bring it to the light.

Still, she couldn't help but feel she'd forgotten something.

x-=-x

_The hallway was musty, damp from condensation that hung in the air. Slight drops of water fell into small pools below from the pipes that ran throughout the hallways. With weary eyes, he looked around in an attempt to get a bearing on where he was._

_Moving slowly, he felt himself looking to the wall curiously. Various symbols, like the etchings of a civilization long since passed were broken into the stones on the wall, each one with a different form to them as he travelled the hallway. Coming to an entryway, he paused, looking from the entryway down the hallway further. While he could still see the markings traveling down further still, he had the distinct impression that even if he went further down, he'd end up back here later._

_Moving through the hallway, the markings grew less faded and more distinct, each one with a stronger and clearer image for him to see. And with each one he saw, a pit of trepidation grew within him. Finding another pathway, he froze in place as a wave of heated air passed across his face. Turning slowly, he stared down the new hallway._

_Before he could make his way towards it, the hallway was flooded by the heated air, overwhelming him and throwing him backwards. He would later remark that he should've realized something was off, as he never struck the wall he'd just seen behind him._

"_Wake up. It's dangerous to sleep here. Wake up!"_

x-=-x

"Hey, wake up."

Naruto's breath was slow, not as easily awakened as the first time due to having a bit more time to sleep than before. A man stood over him, staring down at the young padawan silently as he reached towards him. Gripping his shoulder, he paused as he glanced over his shoulder to the doors on the other side of the landspeeder's parking garage.

"Panaka, I apologize, I didn't hear you come in." The man said, saluting his superior. Receiving a salute in return, he sighed. "If I'd have known you were coming, I'd have acted to alert you sooner."

"What seems to be the fuss here then Zel?" Panaka asked, catching a glimpse of the sleeping Naruto. Raising an eyebrow, he shook his head with a sigh. "Let me guess, some kid trying to skip class?"

"As far as I can tell. I wasn't able to bring him up in the records, and he seems to be completely out of it." The man sighed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe he heard about the debate in the Legislative class and tried to skip out on it? I've heard that's not normally something that occurs, but it's certainly a possibility."

"Maybe." Panaka hummed in though, knowing that he couldn't just allow the young man to remain here. "Well then, would you mind taking him back to his class?"

"Of course sir, that'd be no problem." The man reached in and picked up Naruto, easing him onto his shoulder. Turning around, he paused as he glanced to Panaka. "Is there anything else you need me to do sir?"

"No Zel, that should be fine." Panaka said, moving towards the speeders.

"…sir." Panaka paused when the man called out to him, glancing back curiously. "The Jedi we requested, she took a speeder and went out earlier. Did you want to speak with her about the case, or know where she went?"

"A Jedi actually came?" Panaka appeared surprised, and hummed softly as he thought about it. The request hadn't been something that had gone through King Veruna, as it was something that the Guard themselves had needed. Still, the fact that a Jedi had taken their isolated incident was something of a relief to him. "If they're out doing their work, I'll wait until they message back or return. We've all been briefed on what occurred, and I trust that she was given all the information required for her to begin her investigation."

"That's what I was told." The man said with a shrug. "I honestly don't know if I believe all that hooky nonsense about them being able to see things that other people can't see. It sounds like primitive mysticism to me."

"Trust me, there's a lot more to it than you'd think." Panaka replied, chuckling softly. "We can debate on whether it's mysticism or not later. You have a job to do, and I need to go finish up with my rounds so that I'm ready for their return."

"Of course sir." The man saluted, carrying Naruto away. Once out of sight of Panaka, his face turned sour. Looking down at Naruto, he shook his head. "Man, I've heard of people skipping debates, but I've never heard of someone actually willing to go into the speeder area to hide away. And then to fall asleep for that matter!"

Muttering to himself, he silently gave a nod to those around him, moving towards the nearest classroom he knew of. It was surprising how close to the room the boy had gone, and though it made sense in a way, he shook his head at how silly it seemed to him regardless.

Opening the door, he paused as he saw the instructor glance up to him. "I apologize for the intrusion. I found a boy sleeping in the speeder area, and figured he was from one of the other classes. I can't get a read on his name, but I was hoping I could leave him here at least until we can determine which class he's supposed to be in."

"That is…unprecedented." The instructor said after a moment. "Have you checked the system for his name?"

"I have, and it says he's registered here, but it doesn't say which room or his name. The system reported a glitch in the system a few months ago, and it's likely that his was one of the various records that were damaged. It hasn't shown up unless it was searched for, which means it's likely whatever class he's in wouldn't have known about it till now." The man shrugged helplessly with his hand, trying to think of the words he was looking for. "I understand if it's a bother, I just need a place for him to remain under supervision so I can look for his actual classroom."

The instructor hummed softly thinking over his choice. Pointing to an open seat off to the side, they motioned for him to move him over to it. "Very well, but please do find which classroom he belongs in. He looks a bit old to be working with those here, but when he comes too we'll be happy to accommodate his presence. Right class?"

"Of course." The class said softly, each of them looking to Naruto curiously. None of them had ever seen the boy, but then he was also older than them all. Despite likely being someone in one of the upper classes, none of them had any real issue with his presence there.

Leaving Naruto resting on the desk carefully, the man gave an appreciative nod as he backed away from Naruto. "Thank you for your assistance. Hopefully I'll be able to return and update you on his position as well as have him moved to where he belongs."

"We thank you for that." Turning back to the holopad, they began speaking again. "So, as we were saying, should the Republic pass the treaty to allow major corporations to settle here –"

Zel moved out of the room swiftly, not wishing to hear the discussion further. He always hated politics; they made him scowl at how blind everyone seemed to be of the various opportunities that were presented, but needed to wait until everyone could agree to just jump through the hoops to get to their destination.

Still, while things hadn't ended up as planned, things would still go smoothly. Brushing his blond hair from his face, he slowly smirked as he continued on his way towards the internal communications area. After all, he still had work to do.

* * *

><p>AN: This was a fun little chapter to write, and like I said, should hopefully begin building into the Naruto who'll be part of the action in the Star Wars universe. First though, he's got to learn to remember his lightsaber, and even build one at some point. But all good things in time I suppose.<p>

Q&A

Guest: This story will remain Rated T, however it's likely that the next part of the story will be rated M. That being said, I still need to _get_ to the next storyline - not mission or anything like that, but a larger timeskip deserving of a break it - unless you readers want me to keep the story completely self-contained in this one part rather than breaking it up. If enough people want it to stay under the **From Darkness** banner, then I'd be happy to do that. Otherwise, the next bit will be upped in rating due to the nature of some missions Naruto will take.

Overall, this was fun, I hope all of you who celebrated had a Merry Christmas, and I'll see you all on the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Date: 38 BBY (6 years BBN [Before battle of Naboo])<p>

* * *

><p>Panaka was having a good morning. He'd woken up and gotten ready without issue, gotten through is rounds in standard time, and had learned that the Jedi had sent someone to give assistance to their currently cold investigation.<p>

Still, there was there had been much for him to do. After checking on his nephew, and double checking on the progress of the virus removal from their systems, he'd found things were almost too quiet. Despite the one kid out of class, and a few minor measures he could send other people to handle, there wasn't truly all that much he needed to do. While that was generally a standard day for him, with the Jedi's arrival he was beginning to feel there was more going on than he could see and it was putting him on edge.

For starters, he'd not been alerted to the arrival of the Jedi. Despite being the head of the Guard, and despite the fact that mistakes could be made, he'd already gone and spoken to the people in charge. According to them, he _had _been alerted. Checking his messages and double checking, there was nothing to show what they said was true.

After he'd looked further for anything off, he'd discovered that there were multiple names written down for the removal and use of several speeders. While not normal, they had been going through some technical difficulties for a while. What concerned him though was that because of this he didn't know who had taken the speeder with the Jedi on it, which meant he didn't know who to contact to reach them.

Fighting back the headache building in his head, he'd pressed onwards. Looking for more details that felt out of place, he looked for all the records that had been corrupted. It wasn't surprising that there were many, _many_ that were no longer working properly. One thing though, was rather odd.

Despite the lack of information on the speeders, on several hundred people in the city, and many things in inventory, the ship manifest was working just fine. In fact, it stated quite clearly the new arrivals and the departing vessels; something that had been down for the last few weeks. Running his fingers over the manifest, he quickly located the most recently arrived ship and found it matched the ship the Jedi were supposed to have arrived on.

None of this made any sense to him, but he didn't think he'd find answers from simply remaining where he was. Moving from the console to the Jedi's ship, he frowned as he thought about all that had been going on.

Despite his and King Veruna's best efforts, many things in the city had been going amok as of late. Information was being lost, misplaced, or worse yet corrupted. Without a reliable way to inventory everything and keep track of things, there were people taking advantage of the chaos to benefit themselves. Several items had completely vanished while others had been replaced with items he'd never seen before. Some of those who were hoping that Naboo would join with the more commercialized worlds were beginning to trying to reach out to other worlds secretly to get off world technology to replace that of Naboo's. Thankfully they'd been able to stop a lot of this and keep them from bringing the major corporations in like hungry vultures, but they'd also been trying to determine who was sneaking around the swamps, and for what purpose.

Passing several others on his way to the hanger, he paused as he passed a group that was running the halls in preparation for their training. He remembered that King Veruna had begun ordering for N-1 Starfighters to be built, and that there were soldiers being trained in preparation of it. It wasn't widely spread that such a thing was being done, but many of those who knew at the moment understood that something was off, and that while unpopular it might become quite necessary in the future.

Rounding the final corner, he paused as he saw the ship in the hanger. It was most definitely not of Naboo design, very commercialized and clunky looking design in his opinion. Especially as it was right next to some of their own, the designs much more streamlined, smooth, and artistic without losing sight on being functional. Shaking his head, he figured it wasn't time for that as he headed in.

"Ah, Panaka, how are you today?"

"Hey Vis," He asked, looking from the ship to the man. "So this is the ship the Jedi came in on?"

Vis glanced to the ship with a chuckle. "Yeah that's her. It's a bit of a clunker, but if it works for them I suppose we don't really have any place to complain." Glancing back to Panaka, he flipped through his holoviewer and shook his head.

Noting the look, Panaka sighed. "The system still acting up on you?"

"It's more than that, it's like it's actively fighting me. Like someone is trying to keep me out of my own manifest. Me."

"A shame too. We need that up and running as soon as possible." Panaka looked up to the ship again, eyeing it idly as he thought over everything. "When did the ship come in? Hopefully I'm not too far behind; I want to get the Jedi all the information we've currently covered."

"Right, hold on." Vis muttered, scrolling through the information. Coming across what he wanted, his eyes narrowed. "No…that's not possible."

A sense of trepidation ran through Panaka, and though hesitant, he asked, "What is it?"

"According to this, the ship landed last week, and was signed in by you. Which is wrong, seeing how I checked it in myself just a couple hours ago." Scrubbing through the information, he growled softly. "If that doesn't smell of foul play, I don't know what it."

"Keep it together Vis." Panaka said sternly, holding out his hand for the holoviewer.

The man shook his head. "No, not this time. This time I know things were right, and there was nothing wrong when I brought this up and checked the ship in. Someone is deliberately sabotaging our system and changing information."

Panaka kept quiet, not wanting to voice his opinion on the matter. He'd already suspected as much, but this was something different altogether. Thus far, everything changed was things that were already passed, but this was changing something from the same day. Which meant that it was likely –

Pulling out his communicator, he quickly began barking orders. "I need someone in our communications tower to get me every name of those using the terminals. And get me someone who has the radio transponder frequency for the Jedi right –" Panaka froze at this point, hearing nothing but static from his radio. "…someone's jamming our transmissions?"

"What?" Vis stared at him, moving through his holoviewer as he attempted to establish a connection with the tower as well. Finding no connection, he scowled. "You're right."

"That…who would be so bold?" Panaka asked, shaking his head as he shut off his comlink and began storming out. "I'm going to check on it. If anything happens you'll find me there. Keep looking here, maybe there'll be break in the jamming frequency where you'll be able to find something."

"Yes sir!" Vis said with a salute, moving to the inner terminal as he searched for the equipment he needed to assist Panaka.

So much for a good day.

x-=-x

An'ya Kuro always felt a connection to the forests of worlds. The forest brought her peace, and helped her connect to the Force in a way that she normally wouldn't have thought possible. In her youth she'd enjoyed all kinds of forests, and had used that connection she had to ask the trees themselves to assist her in all sorts of ways. One of those ways was allowing her to travel through them as though she were just another part of the forest around her.

Her movements were smooth, deliberate, and brought her ever closer to where the Force was deeming her most useful. Not seeing anything at the moment, she shrugged and made her way further in. She knew that there was no way for a conventional speeder to get here, but then whoever had come this way hadn't needed one either.

Pressing her hand to the ground, she frowned at a few displacements of foliage. Some of them were definitely footprints, but there was some part of the area around them that was something else. If she had to wager a guess, it was most likely something using some kind of repulsorlift, floating through after the person. That meant the person had something following them; a personalized carrier, a droid, or some other device. Glancing up, her frown deepened as she saw a cave off in the distance. Or at least, something that had likely once been a cave. There was a lot of damage that had been done to it, and whatever lay deeper within the tunnel had been closed off, likely by some explosion.

The Force seemed to tell her that the path ended here, and she sighed softly in defeat. So she'd just needed to find the cave then? How odd. However, who was she to question the will of the Force? She was just an instrument that the Force used to fulfill what was needed. And if all that was needed was for her to find this cave, then so be it. She would simply need to determine what to use this information for now so that the will of the Force concerning the matter could be fulfilled.

Switching on her comlink to call in for Zel to bring in the speeder, she paused as she heard garbled static. "…well then." Shutting it off, she reached out in the Force to determine her next move.

Sensing something off, she delved deeper as she tried to determine what was needed. After a few moments, she could tell that there was something that was needed to be at this cave before she entered it, but that she'd forgot it. Curious, she sought out what was stopping her from moving forwards.

When she felt the familiar presence from Theed, she flinched inwardly. "Ah, so that's what I need."

Turning around, she made her way to the pathway once more, focusing on the presence. Despite her knowledge that Force was guiding her, she felt bad regardless; leaving one's student and forgetting about them until they had to be reminded due to their presence being required at a location wasn't your usual occurrence after all.

Still, he didn't seem to be in danger, and if anything he was in a place surrounded by other people whose very presence would force any sane assailant to think at least twice before acting. He was also still asleep, though it was quite likely that he would wake soon. The Force churned around him curiously, though she presumed that was due to the fact he was waking and attempting to determine his surroundings.

Returning her focus to the now, she paused and glanced into the forest once more. Something within the trees told her that there was something moving within the underbrush; something curious and dangerous, but not malevolent. Something that wanted her gone as soon as possible.

Thinking over what it could possibly be, she recalled rumors of there being some species lost to the planet of Naboo. Despite not being one to delve into myths and legends, this one had stuck with her, and made her shake her head as she called for the Force to allow her to pass. She didn't want to have to deal with anything more than what was necessary at the moment, and it took much self-control over her own curiosity to avoid following it further into the swamp.

As she turned away, she froze, her mind freezing up as something she swore was impossible began playing in front of her eyes.

In one flash, she saw herself moving into the swamp, speaking to the creatures, and following them into the waters. In another, she saw herself continuing down the path and being picked up by a nearby speeder that would take her into Theed where she would retrieve her student.

The Force had never done such a thing with her before. Whenever she desired to know the will of the Force, she followed its direction and ended up where she needed to be. Now though, she was being given…options? The Force had more than one possibility for what she could do, and each lead to a different possible outcome.

She let herself sink into the Force, her mind running through both of the possibilities as she attempted to determine which she needed to take. Take the path that would bring her back to her student, or the one that would give her greater understanding as to what was going on. Shockingly both had their merit, and the Force leaned towards neither more than the other. It caused her a slight bit of discomfort, as she'd never had the Force feel so…uncertain.

It took her several moments of careful thought to think over her choices. While both were potentially vital, she only could choose one of them.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned back to the swamp. She felt that her student would be fine, strange a situation as he seemed to be in, but the mission did need to come first. And this may be the only time she'd get to speak to these natives and perhaps even be able to learn why whoever was acting within the swamp had chosen to kill one of the guards on patrol.

Moving to where she felt their aura's last, she stood still, looking around slowly. Lacing her voice with the Force, she spoke softly. "I know you're here. I understand you're wary, but I mean you no harm. Please, I wish to help."

There was a lasting silence as she waited for them to react. She could sense that they were deliberating between attacking her and coming out to determine her intents further. Thankfully the Force allowed her reach out to them, silently calming them as she sought out their intent.

Slowly coming out from behind the trees, with some on foot and others riding the indigenous kaadu, they completely surrounding her on all sides with a wary look in their eyes. Their weaponry appeared primitive at first glance, however that was more than enough for her to know that she needed to remain wary of them. After a few moments of silence, one of them finally put away their weapon and began shouting to the others. To her shock, they actually appeared to be shifting their mood from worried and concerned to relatively pleasant and inviting.

"_Well this is an interesting change of pace."_ She inwardly thought, following their direction as they began leading her into the swamp. _"Hopefully Naruto will be alright. Shame he'll miss this, I bet he'd enjoy the strangeness of these people."_

x-=-x

There was soft chattering that filled the room, this unprecedented change to their normal routine. Stirring slightly, he heard the people next to him trying to shush those around him. Groaning, he held his stomach as he slowly sat up and rubbed his lips in an attempt to try and focus on the world around him. Blinking slowly, the world slowly came into focus, though seeing the world around him didn't help him understand what he was seeing.

"…great, I'm not even awake yet." Naruto muttered, dropping his chin onto the table. Wincing, his stomach began growling loudly to alert him to reality. "Okay, so…not a dream? Stupid droids. I knew they were trying to kill me."

"Um…"

Naruto rolled his head to the side, staring up at the person sitting next to him. "Hi. Did I miss something?"

"Well, you're in class, and according to the guard who found you, you had been found trying to skip class." The girl on his left said, glancing from him to the front of the class where the teacher had taken notice of his awakening.

"Uh, what?" Naruto slowly sat back and realized he was more than just in a seat, but in a chair. Looking around, his mind began getting more and more frantic as he realized exactly where he was. "No. No. No. I'm not supposed to be in school, I graduated already. I'm…well I'm –"

"Mister Uzumaki, if you don't mind."

"What?" Naruto's head snapped up to the teacher, eyes wide in confusion. "How do you know my name?"

"It's here in my records." The teacher pulled up a list of names, with Naruto's showing up on the list. "See? Naruto Uzumaki, fourth year student, and…well the rest of the information is corrupted, but that's something that we've been working fixing for many students."

"But-but…" Naruto shook his head, tapping a few keys to view the screen as well. Staring at his screen, he shook his head. "That's not possible. I'm not even from Naboo!"

"That's not something we look down on Naruto." Shaking his head, he sighed softly. "We view all citizens as equals, regardless of where they've come from."

"…no, that's not what I meant. I mean you've got it –" Naruto flinched, gripping his stomach with a groan as it growled viciously. Apparently without using to Force to help keep his stomach from remembering that it was hungry, it was all too eager to remind him that he hadn't eaten in two days.

Noting his pain, and hearing Naruto's stomach growl, the instructor raised a brow in concern. "Is something the matter Mr. Uzumaki?"

"No. Hungry." Naruto muttered.

"Didn't you think to eat before coming to class?" The girl on his other side asked, sounding a bit bemused by Naruto's situation despite herself.

Naruto glared weakly at her. "You get food while dodging blaster fire from training droids that are designed to keep shooting until they swap out with the next batch. Or sleep. Or do anything normal."

The instructor sighed gruffly, shaking his head with a frown. "Really now Naruto, that's not humorous. And this is not the time or place."

Naruto's head turned to the instructor, a far stronger glare leveled at the man. "I can show you the bruises, but I don't think you want me to do that." Naruto leaned back gripping at the collar of his shirt with the most serious look he could muster without succumbing to his hunger and tired body.

"Ew, no." Both girls grabbed his hands, pulling them down from his shirt.

"Ehem." Getting their attention back on him, he shook his head. "No, I don't believe that, but we do not require any displays of public indecency."

Naruto blinked at that, looking around to the younger kids around him. He'd read up on many words that he'd once been unable to understand himself while in the temple, but all of the kids around him seemed to understand what was being said without any issue.

"…what kind of class did you say this was again?"

"We're here to perform our community service by learning about things in the Legislative Youth Program." The girl on his left said, raising an eyebrow at his question. "Haven't you gone through these classes before?"

"No. I've already said that. I'm not from Naboo. I _just_ got here dang it all!" Naruto grimaced as he lay his head once more on the table and his stomach loudly protested his attempt at strenuous actions. "Okay…Force first, arguing later…"

"Well, seeing how we're in the middle of a debate, perhaps you'd care to give your opinions Mr. Uzumaki?" The instructor, sensing an 'opening', decided to try to steer the conversation with Naruto back on track for the rest of his class.

"Food first, argue later." Naruto muttered, shaking his head. Feeling something moving to the left of him in the Force, he glanced to the girl with a curious look. "What are you doing?"

"Well, if you really haven't eaten in two days, then you should at least have _something_ so that your debate sounds feasible." She pulled out a fruit that was just slightly bigger than her hand, and offered it to Naruto. "It's just the snack I was going to have for lunch, but I don't need it."

Naruto took the fruit like he hadn't eaten in much longer than he actually had, and smiled brightly. Taking a bite of the fruit, he channeled the Force through him to help get every possible nutrient from the fruit as quickly as possible so that he could be able to focus and react better. It helped that it tasted good, and was a sweetness he hadn't tasted on Coruscant.

"Mm…so good." Naruto muttered softly, savoring the taste. Finishing his first bite, he glanced to the instructor. "Sorry, what was the debate-question thing?"

"We were having a debate on the exportation of goods, and the importation of other items. Today's subject was agricultural goods being exported, and droids being imported."

"Droids are evil." Naruto said immediately, nodding to himself as he took another bite.

There was a moment of silence through the room. Remembering that this was meant to be a debate, the girl on his right perked up. "How can you just say that. That can't be true anymore than a person can say one particular species is evil. That's just not possible. And besides, droids are only capable of doing what's within their specific programming unless given directives outside of their normal parameters that allow them access to the functions and processing faculties that would allow them to do as such."

"Mm, maybe. But then that's all based around the idea that droids were made with the idea of doing a job. One wrong keystroke or one misunderstanding and a whole section of droids can completely mess with what you've worked for." Naruto countered, remembering what he'd learned about droids while studying them. At the time, his intention had been to learn their weaknesses so he could dismantle them, but he'd picked up on a few things along the way.

The instructor, picking up on something that could be a key learning point, quickly cut in. "And, Mr. Uzumaki, why is it that those misunderstandings can be a great bane to any society who is using them at any period of time?"

"Money, time, progress." Naruto listed off idly, as though he were counting rather than listing things that were a detriment of droid products. "Like I said, one wrong keystroke in programing can mean that you'd have to pay for the droids to be shipped back to be fixed, which takes time, and slows progress. And from what I've been able to tell from my research, a lot of the corporations that build the droids also have their hands in transportation which means they'd be more than happy to spend the time transporting the droids back for you at a cost for each droid that more than makes up for any potential fuel costs that they might've had to begin with."

"Maybe that's true, but there's more to it than that right?" The girl on his right was persistent if nothing else, and crossed her arms in though. "Droids can go into unstable environments without worry, can work continually until they need to return to recharge, and can even manage to take care of an entire operation remotely. What's to say that importing the droids would be a bad thing when we could benefit as a planet from that alone?"

"Sabe weren't you paying attention?" The girl on his left said, getting the other girl – Sabine – to pause and listen. "He's saying that the droids would be less useful if produced off planet, because if anything happened to them we'd have to send them back and get them repaired, and even then it would take money to get them back in the first place."

"But what about on world production?" Sabe asked, motioning to the world around them. "We have the materials right here, so what's stopping us from building one here?"

Naruto shrugged. "Droids to build it for you?"

Sabe was silent for a second, thinking that one over. Giving a small nod of approval for all three of them, the instructor turned to the rest of the class. "Is there anyone else who wished to add their thoughts to this discussion?"

x-=-x

Panaka sped through the streets of Theed faster than he'd driven in a long time. His mind raced with the possibilities, and though he had experience with all manner of disturbances this one was escalating rapidly. He'd never thought he'd have the point where someone was attempting to jam their transmissions, which in his mind meant only one thing.

Invasion.

If he was fast enough though, it might be possible for him to stop it. To cut whoever was doing this off and keep them from advancing in whatever plan this was by reactivating communication capabilities. It was a long shot, but then he was basing this off of one idea; the idea that whoever was jamming their signal was on the planet.

It made sense in his mind. There wouldn't have been any ships large enough to knock out communications that would've gotten through hyperspace before being picked up and reported back to him even before they began jamming the signal.

But then, there were also the mistakes concerning the Jedi's arrival as well. During the daunting race through the city, his mind had come to the conclusion that someone had begun the sabotage even before they had arrived on the planet. After all, his men were top of their class, and some of the best he'd ever seen. They _wouldn't_ have simply let them arrive without radioing their presence in.

Seeing the tower off in the distance, he flipped open his comlink again to check its status. The static only seemed to grind against his nerves and he quickly shut it off. Here he'd find answers, and stop whatever madness was occurring in his city.

Pulling into the entryway, he parked and leapt out of the speeder. Racing in as quickly as his feet would take him, he began barking out orders, calling those inside to his side.

His steps began slowing down after he'd gotten down the first hallways. Looking around the halls, his voice died out as he began realizing how quiet things were. Moving to the first door closest to him, he looked in to see why things were so silent.

The first room was empty, which was unusual as there was usually at least one or two people who were in that room, monitoring the city and making sure everything was alright. Turning to run to the next room, he almost tripped as he turned the corner on his journey. Looking down, he balked and stepped back as looked at form of one of his guards lay sprawled on the floor with a blaster mark in their chest.

"Oh no." He muttered, drawing his blaster as he began moving down the hallway far more cautiously. He'd likely already given away his position with his yelling, but there was a chance that whoever had done this was deeper in and hadn't heard his shouting. Unlikely, but he wasn't counting on it either.

Moving up the stairs, his eyes were narrowed as he heard a burst of static coming from the control room. Pausing at the top of the stairs, he switched his blaster to stun. He didn't want to kill whoever it was; there was still too much left unanswered and he wouldn't allow himself to be left in the dark. The room was filled with flickering lighting, casting shadows throughout and preventing him from getting a clear look from where he was.

"Damn it, work already!"

Pausing at that, he peaked around the corner into the main console area. To his surprise, one of his guard was there, already typing fiercely in an attempt to bring the systems back on. Moving slowly into the room, he scanned the room, flinching at the sight of multiple other bodies sprawled out with blaster burn marks.

"Sir?!" The man had turned around, balking at the sight of someone entering the room before relaxing at the sight of him.

Panaka looked the man over, nodding slowly as he recognized him as the man who'd assisted him earlier that day. "What's the status on communications Zel?"

"It's completely beyond me what they did to this thing. I'm not the best with electronics, but…" He moved from the main console to another side console, shaking his head as the information came up with much of it covered with Error's, and Data Corrupt. "This…this is something else. I don't think this is something someone could just do here…right?"

"I don't know." Panaka muttered, standing next to him as he viewed the information. From the look of it, there was no clear way as to how their communications were being jammed, though with them being jammed in the first place it could be from anywhere. "We need to report this to King Veruna. If this is some sort of invasion we need Naboo to be made aware."

"But sir, we don't actually know if that's what's happening." Zel looking mildly startled by the idea of invasion. It was something that hadn't happened in Naboo in a long, _long _time, and Panaka could understand how such a thing would throw him off. "Are you sure we should bring this to him now? I mean…we don't have any solid information, and we can't even tell what's jamming the signal."

"No, but we do know that these issues have been going on for a while now, and we need to get to the bottom of this, now." Panaka took a deep breath, gritting his teeth as he tapped his fingers on the edge of the console. "You are right though…we do need more information. More importantly we need a solid method of communicating despite this issue."

Getting the picture, Zel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right, of course." Glancing to Panaka's drawn weapon, he drew his own, and nodded. "By your lead."

"Alright, let's move." Panaka and Zel made their way out of the building, keeping their sights forward.

There was a feeling of dread building in Panaka as they quickly rushed to his speeder to head to the king. What had started as one person dying in the swamps had turned into at least a dozen people who'd been killed in communications. This was getting far too out of hand, and they couldn't let this get any further. Not on his watch.

* * *

><p>AN: Well this was a fun chapter to write. Not much being done on Naruto's end, but then he's not been using the Force to help him overcome his hunger seeing how he hasn't eaten or slept in two days. And after a quick nap, that would become a bit more prevalent. As such he's not going to be making any remarkable escape until he's finished his discussion. After all, he now has an audience to discuss how droids are EVIL.<p>

Q&A

**Nightlance44**: No, I haven't definitively locked in any specific pairing I want for this story, though I do have a few ideas and have been laying the ground work for a couple of possibilities since the interactions are plot related as well. Several people have put their opinion on what they hope for, but I won't 'lock in' any pairing until later on in the story.

It's been a fun chapter, and the next one should pick up with some more fun and some actual action on Naruto's part, as well as a little more in depth knowledge on what he currently knows and things he might want to learn in the future. In the meantime, this has been fun, and I'll see you on the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

Also...no, I did not write this chapter as quick as possible because I'm getting excited about the upcoming stuff. Nah, nope, not at all.

Anyways, here's the chapter! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p>In terms of instruction, the debate couldn't be going better. Ideas were being passed back and forth, and heated debates were ensuing. It was everything he could've wanted.<p>

However, "No, if you move the conductor core as close you can to the circuitry so that it will completely shut down the droid and reset it to factory settings. It's possible for people to then change its purpose completely and you'll end up with a bunch of droids that you don't know the true purpose of."

Things were getting slightly out of hand by this point. "Mr. Uzumaki, this is a class of learning and debates, not in teaching people how to reprogram droids!"

"I'm not teaching them how to do it, I'm telling them how easy it is to reprogram a droid. I'm telling you they're evil and cannot be trusted!" Naruto proclaimed, slamming his hand down and pointed around the class. "And until someone can bring up a convincing argument that they're not, I'm going to stand by my stance. So okay, maybe they're not 'evil', but they're _unreliable_ and_ unpredictable _and that's just as bad in many ways seeing how you need them to be reliable so that you can get things done."

Admittedly, Naruto did have a point on that matter, and the instructor was willing to concede that point. In fact, Naruto had brought up many issues that were quite striking and apparently had caused a good many of them to reconsider their positions towards droids, while others had currently failed due to their lacking further knowledge so as to help them.

"What about astronomic droids?"

"What?" Naruto blinked, looking to the girl on his right. "What about them?"

"They're the little droids that fix ships while in space, and occasionally assist with technological demands on planets as well. What about those?"

Naruto hummed softly, thinking about it. "Well I've never met an astronomic droid, so you're going to have to fill me in."

"Well…" Put on the spot, she took a moment to consider her words. "Astro droids are known for their assistance with those things which I said earlier. In addition, many are built with something like a navcomputer which allows them to act as a backup navigational computer in case of a malfunction. Many smaller fighters require them to as the larger navigational systems are much larger than just the simple droids are. They are also quite capable of assisting in other ways as well, and some even have rather basic personality components which allow them to adapt and learn how to interact with those they're with so that they can perform to top capacity. Also the method you mentioned earlier wouldn't be viable as their components are more compact and you wouldn't be able to move the pieces around as you originally wanted. That means that, while I'm not saying hacking one is impossible, the lengths you'd have to go in order to do so would be much less efficient than if you were to use other droids."

"…okay, first off, why haven't I heard about these before?" Naruto palmed his faced in aggravation, trying to understand the confusing nature of these droids she had mentioned. "I mean, yes that makes sense, and I'm sure if you pointed one out I'd have seen it, but if they're so well protected in terms of keeping their data and personality safe, why don't more people use them?"

The girl was silent, and the instructor decided that now was an ample opportunity to step in. "And _that_ class, is why we discuss these things. I'm fairly certain none of you thought of these ideas, or these things, and it will certainly be a good discussion for tomorrow as well. I wish you all well. Return to your dorms, and we'll talk more of this tomorrow."

Naruto looked to the window with a flat, almost uncaring look as he saw the sun setting in the distance. Internally, his mind was reeling in shock at how distracted he'd become that the day had passed by without him even realizing it or noticing it Then again, when he became engrossed in a topic, he generally lost track of the world around him.

"So, keep these discussions in mind, review them before our next lesson, and I'll see you tomorrow. Class dismissed." The instructor turned off the projector and waved to the kids. There was a lot of noise as the kids around him began packing up and heading out. As Naruto tried to slip out, the instructor called out. "Mr. Uzumaki! A moment if you'd please."

Whining softly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing to the girl, she looked to her friend with a curious look, which was met with a nod. "Can we talk outside when you're done?"

"Uh…sure?" Naruto said, confused by her question.

"Padme come on!"

She smiled brightly, laughing at his confused look before turning to Sabe. "Alright, I'm coming!"

Naruto watched the two of them leave; glancing back to the instructor as he tried to figure out what was going on.

The instructor leaned against his desk, looking up to Naruto with a far-off look in his eyes. "I've had a lot of children come and go in my time, but your name has never come up before. From what I just saw, you're far from subtle, and far too outspoken to have simply been missed by one of the other teachers. If anything, you're quite a bit too advanced for you to be here in this class. So tell me, just who are you really?"

Naruto stared at him silently, unsure what to say. On the one hand, it was flattering that he believed that about him, on the other hand it felt a bit out of place. "…I'm just a kid who was visiting in the wrong place at the wrong time apparently."

"…I see." The man said, shaking his head slowly. "I apologize if our class caused you any great inconvenience."

"No! No, it's fine. If anything, I don't think I would've gotten any food by myself if I'd woken up somewhere else." Naruto waved his hands wildly, trying to dismiss the man's claim that the class had been anything other than enjoyable. "If anything, I need to thank you since you've been a really great help to me. I didn't know a lot of the things and ideas Naboo has before. You're a good teacher."

The instructor viewed his large, shining grin with a scrutinizing look as he thought about how much the boy helped him. Figuring giving a little bit of advice as a 'teacher' before he left, he sighed. "You have a sharp wit about you, and it's clear that you wear your heart on your sleeve. Naruto…don't lose that."

"Huh?"

"You're very outspoken, very energetic, and those are good qualities. I hope that one day, I'll see your name or face in a place where you've used these talents to become someone worthy or repute." Chuckling softly, he shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe someday I'll be able to point to you and say I knew you once, a long time ago."

Naruto scoffed at the man, crossing his arms indignantly. "Hey now, that's not fair. If anything, you'll be able to point to them and say 'hey! That's the kid I taught a while ago. Look how far he's come.' Because let's face it, I'm not gonna settle for being anything less than someone who'll be talked about in legends!"

The words weren't what he expected, but then it was also clear to him that Naruto intended to fulfill everything he was saying. "Heh, I expect you to prove it then." Giving a small nod, he turned from Naruto and began packing his stuff up for the day. "Until then, good day Naruto."

"…good day sir." Naruto slowly left with an odd feeling in his chest as he stepped out the door. It was so strange to think that there was a complete stranger that had confidence in him after just a short while speaking with him. Nodding to himself, he punched his palm with conviction. "Alright then, I'll just have to make sure to live up to that then!"

"What are you talking about Naruto?"

Having almost forgotten about Padme and Sabe waiting for him, he jumped a bit when he heard Sabe's voice. Scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly, he shrugged. "Nothing, just talking to myself is all." Hooking his thumbs into his belt, he turned to them with a large grin. "So, how can I help?"

"Well, here's the thing." Sabe said quickly, cutting off Padme who looked like she was going to say something. "You seem to have a lot of information about droids, and we're starting to get a bit worried about the situation here."

"Situation?" Naruto blinked, mind coming back to the mission at hand. Was there something that they knew?

"Yeah, like with your name. It brought up your name, but the information was…lost? Corrupted?" Sabe shook her head. "I don't even know, I just know that it's been going on for quite a while, and it's getting out of hand, and I don't know what they're doing anymore, and –"

"Sabe, calm down!" Padme said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "It's okay, they'll figure it out."

"…figure what out?" Naruto noticed the frantic look on Sabe's face, and a red flag was raised bringing him to the ready.

Padme sighed, giving Sabe another look as though to tell her friend to let her finish their conversation. "What Sabe is saying is that there are more files than just yours that are corrupted. Her files and those of several of our other classmates are too. It's been a couple months, and there's talk that if they aren't able to get it fixed they'll have to send them home until they can get their files back in working order."

Naruto nodded slowly, filing the information away as he thought it over. "So, since I know how droids work, you were thinking…what? That I could slice the computer and put stuff into it?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Hey, I may have sounded like I do all that stuff with the reprograming and hacking, but I don't actually do it. It's illegal, and I don't do illegal things…I just know how to do it because I want to know how to fix any droid that's acting up on me if needed."

"No! No that's not what we meant." Padme said, trying to help quickly nullify that idea. "What we meant was that it means you probably know more about how the systems work, and you're older so your information being corrupted…"

"Huh?" Naruto pulled a blank, trying to understand. It took a couple of seconds, but glancing at Sabe, the light came back on. "Oh! Oh I get it. Sabe wants me to fix it because she doesn't want to go home or get kicked out." Slapping his forehead, he chuckled and shook his head. "Wow, sorry I was slow with that."

"Um, it's okay?" Padme raised a brow at his silly actions. For someone who'd just been told that all of his years at the school would be for naught, he seemed quite…relaxed.

Punching his fist into the air, Naruto's eyes narrowed with determination. "Okay then! Don't worry about a thing, I'm on the case! I promise, I'll figure out what's going on with the school's systems." Turning to the balcony, Naruto closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force for direction. Feeling his 'internal compass' shift, he followed it until it was telling him where he had to go. "Alright, time to move out!"

"Um, what are you –" Sabe blinked, and stumbled back with a confused shriek as Naruto bolted forward and leapt of the balcony. "What – Naruto!"

Both girls ran to the edge of the balcony to follow him, surprised to find that rather than seeing his body sprawled on the ground, he was already up and running at full speed in some seemingly random direction. Glancing to one another, they slowly shrugged as they leaned away and watched him go.

"…do you think that was a wise choice?" Sabe asked, rubbing her arm worriedly. "I mean, I know it was my idea, but…I don't know. I'm not as sure about making split second choices like you Padme."

"It just comes with practice." Padme reassured her friend, looking to where Naruto was running. "As for whether or not trusting him is a good idea…" She shook her head, sighing softly with a hint of defeat. "I don't know. But, he seemed understanding and didn't just brush us off like some of the teachers. Maybe he'll actually be able to figure out what's going on in this place. It's…becoming harder to know who we can rely on when everyone I see around us is having issues with this problem. It's like everywhere in Theed is suffering from a city wide madness rather than being organized and determining the source of the issue at hand."

"I know. I heard they're even considering calling in the Jedi to help." Sabe remarked, getting a confused look from her friend. "…what?"

"…Sabe, have you ever seen Naruto around before? I mean, he's loud, knowledgeable, and kind of hard to miss or forget." Padme remarked, eyes looking to where Naruto had now long since disappeared. "And to be able to jump from the balcony…"

"Oh? Oh! You don't think?!"

"I don't know." Padme bit her lip lightly before smiling at her friend. "If he is though, then yes. We did make the right choice."

x-=-x

"Where the hell am I going Force?" Naruto asked, mainly to himself, as he found himself taking seemingly forever to get to where he was going. He had a deep respect for the Force, and his connection was rather intimate during any physical activity due to his practice of alchaka. When he felt like the Force was messing with him and yanking him around from place to place though, he wondered if the Force had a sense of humor that it exhibited at the strangest of times.

Still, there was a direction, and he'd just not made it there yet. Picking up speed, he charged faster and faster into the city. Ducking and weaving through the people who were making their way to their homes, his eyes caught sight of a building peeking out from between two buildings before he passed it by.

"Oh, so _that's_ where you want me to go. Well why didn't you just say so!" Naruto grinned, not worrying nearly as much about where he was going now that he had a point of reference. Lowering his body, he called on the Force to give him access to speeds he couldn't normally reach as he became a small bolt of yellow streaking down the streets.

When he finally began approaching the building, he slowed to a stop. Humming softly, his eyes darted over the structure with curious eyes. "Alright. Now, if I were supposed to enter a place like this…" Naruto's eyes quickly fell on the front door. "I'd use the door! Perfect, they'd never suspect that."

Making his way into the building, he whistled softly as he got a good look at the structure. Much like the rest of Naboo, it was ornate, and a very artistically designed. If Naruto had to wager a guess, it was built with by the people of Naboo with that intention so that it would be able to look good while still including its purpose.

Not that Naruto knew what exactly that was; he just knew it looked nice.

Humming softly as he blindly walked into the room, he soon froze and realized that there was a shift in the Force. A second to late, seeing how his foot bumped into something and he ignored the prompt from the Force telling him to keep his head up.

Stumbling back, Naruto's eyes widened in horror at the body of the guard lying on the floor, blaster marks showing where he'd been shot by some assailant. It took several minutes for Naruto to calm down, mainly due to the shock of seeing a dead body. It was unnerving, and unexpected; a sight no child would ever wish to see, but that he had to walk past in order to follow the Force.

Groaning softly, he slowly inched his way over the man as he tried to continue. As he did, he found himself stopping over him and staring down at him with a whimper as the Force continued to speak to him. Letting a frustrated growl slip past his lips, he knelt down next to the man and shook his hands out.

"Okay…this is gonna suck." Naruto muttered, placing his hand over the man's eyes. Closing his own, he willed the Force to show him what he needed to see.

The results weren't pretty.

There is a technique that some Force users could use that allowed them to see the past of objects called by many names; psychometry, telemetry, and perhaps the most pertinent, postcognition. Rather than seeing things that happened before they happened, it showed the things that had already happened. It was something that was only _meant _to be used on objects; however there were times that a user of the Force could even go as far as read what happened to a person who had died. That being said, the view wasn't usually pretty.

_The man never saw it coming. He'd just been doing his normal shift when suddenly things had gone dark on one of the monitors for a second. At first he'd thought it was simply a glitch in the system, especially when it came back on. However, when the next one went down, his eyes darted between them. They were specific, a pattern that was moving forwards. _

_Moving towards the recreational room._

_He'd called for his fellow guard to keep an eye out as there was a bug and heard a simple 'of course' reply. When the camera just outside their room went dark, he heard brief shouts of pain and swore he heard something else behind it. Like someone was humming, or perhaps, something more sinister. _

_Unwilling to wait, he asked for someone to cover the cameras while he headed down to check things out. While he left at a brisk pace, it became a full sprint in seconds. His heart pounded, eyes couldn't focus as –_

_His wife and child were smiling at him, gripping his cheeks as he tried to get them settled in for a quick photo. The day had been so beautiful, he couldn't help but want to keep it in his memory forever. Pulling her close, he nuzzled her gentle as he leaned in to give her –_

_He sweated heavily, training for the day having been rougher than normal due to his being a bit late. Looking to where he saw her waiting, it didn't matter. She made him happy, and a few more laps run because he'd spent a few more minutes to 'tell her goodbye' was more than worth it in his –_

_The man stood over him, cold eyes glowering beneath the brim of his hat. He knew that face but the eyes…the eyes couldn't possibly belong to him. In his hand, a short vibroblade hummed its melody of death from where it had been used just a few moments before to kill his friends just a ways away. He crawled away, no words escaping him as he tried to choke out some kind of plea._

"_Sorry Bothom." The man said, leveling a blaster at his chest. "It's for progress."_

Naruto fell back, eyes wide as he rolled onto his side. The feeling of turmoil escalated quickly; pain, darkness, fear, and all manner of emotions ran through him as he tried in desperation to get a hold of himself. He'd practiced the technique in secret, as the Jedi didn't like the idea of people using a technique that could bring them so close to the dark side. But in that moment Naruto felt…he knew he needed to know something about those last moments. That there was something he needed to know…

"Death sucks…" Naruto decided, not sure what else he was supposed to take out of it yet. Still, the Force had settled around that man, and now guided him to something deeper in. Wincing as he picked himself up, he took a shaky breath. "Well, here I go again."

Naruto flinched with each body he passed, flashes of memories not his own showing their faces even when he didn't see them. He had to hold the wall after a while as the air became heavy with the feeling of whatever cold hunter had walked these halls, no remorse as he killed them one by one.

When he got to where the Force was guiding him he stopped, looking at what appeared to be some form of broom closet. Blinking, he grit his teeth and slammed his hand into the wall. "…what the heck?! Force, explain. Now! ...please?"

Were he not so frustrated, he would have continued, walked in, and felt that he had come to the wrong place. As it was, the Force had its reasons, and the hum and whistle of something powering up was what Naruto needed at this point.

Hearing something being released, Naruto glanced to where his hand was and flinched. It was the lock release of some mechanism, likely some sort of machine that had been held in the room. Hearing something coming his way, he stumbled and fell back. "Okay karma, whatever you're planning, forget it! I…oh wait. I don't have a lightsaber. Um…well I'm still able to use the Force!"

Moving into a defensive stance, he gathered the Force around him, ready for anything that could be thrown his way. Nothing would phase him, and should it prove hostile, the Force would help him remove it from his path.

Which is why when the little blue and white droid rolled forwards, Naruto found himself at a loss of words. It was maybe a head smaller than he was tall, and was looking around warily as though trying to take in its surroundings. Glancing to the wall, he raised his eyebrow at the name on the wall.

"Star craft astronomic droid hold?" Naruto muttered, slowly turning back to the hunk of metal before him. "Um…hi?"

The little droid's head shifted to him, high pitched and possibly excited whistles coming from it as it rolled up to him. He took a step back, wary for a second as it approached. His stance didn't change, and if anything he felt less at ease when it decided to wheel around him as though looking him over curiously. It chirped and whistled, sounding…happy.

Naruto had never had this kind of interaction from a droid before. Usually it was starling him, holding some sort of weapon, or becoming so indigent that it yelled at him in the most brutal Wookie it could muster. Or maybe that was just Aurra messing with its speech patterns? And, now he was remembering Aurra.

Shaking his head, he took a deep breath as he looked at the droid. "Okay, Force knows why I need you, but I do. Any idea how to get to the central hub? It's…kinda urgent. Sorta? I think." Naruto slapped his cheeks, psyching himself up. "No, it _is_ urgent! And I need to get there now! Follow me!"

Naruto, still not knowing where he was going, began racing down the hallway. The little astro droid warbled in confusion, wheeling around for a second before following after Naruto. It had its designation as a spacecraft repair droid, but this seemed like fun, and the small human seemed to have an idea of where he was heading anyways. Who knows? Maybe he'd find something adventurous along the way.

x-=-x

It took far longer than Naruto wanted to reach the central hub, but eventually he reached it. Little droid following behind him curiously, he'd completely blocked out its presence as the fact it was following him had begun disturbing him shortly after he'd realized that he not only had it following him but had _asked_ for it to follow him. Were it not for the information that Padme and Sabe had given him during their verbal bout, he would likely have tried to dismantle the droid as soon as possible.

Walking into the main room, Naruto winced as he stared as he tried to take in everything. The Jedi trained to distance themselves from emotion, something Naruto hadn't truly put much stock in. He'd found that keeping his emotions just below the surface where he could feel them, where they could give him insight into the people around him, was where he felt they were safest. Right now though, they were churning in such a way as to disorient him.

Biting his lip, he shuffled around the bodies, trying not to look at them or…remember. It wasn't easy as the man – Bothom if he remembered right – had held so many memories. Of this room, these people, of…so many things. Naruto was starting to understand why postcognition was looked down on.

At the same time, the moment he arrived at the controls, his eyes darted over them seconds before his fingers did. They were practiced motions, ones he didn't know, ones he couldn't have known, and ones that were slowly beginning to fade. Apparently the psychometry was beginning to fade, and he needed to work fast.

The display came up quickly, but the information was gibberish to him. "Already? Oh come on, I need more than that!"

Thinking over what he could do, he began searching for the functions of the facility. After a couple seconds, he pulled it up, and felt his jaw drop.

"No way. Who would be so dumb as to link all of the systems in Theed to one place?!" Naruto's fingers continued to roll over the board, looking for answers.

The little astro droid watched him, warbling and whistling questioningly to Naruto. It noticed a port next to him and wheeled over to it, extending a jack into it so that it could access alongside Naruto.

"No, it's not that. It's…a hub? So~ it's like everything people want to access can get sent here so that they can get information from anywhere rather than having to bounce around to different areas?" Naruto blinked. "Wait, that's a _good_ idea. Never mind, I was wrong."

Giving a couple whistles, Naruto glanced to the little droid. It turned to him with a happy chirping noise, making Naruto raise an eyebrow.

"What's up? Find something boy?" Naruto asked, hearing a beeping noise from the console. Turning to it, he stepped back as the information came up. "What?"

The information was scrolling across the screen was moving far faster than Naruto was able to pick up, at least without a little help from the Force. It took a few moments, but soon it settled into a list of names that had corrupted files, and those who had missing information.

"…did…you do this?" Naruto pointed from the projection to the droid, getting a happy whistle in return. "Oh. Whoa."

The information on the screen flashed red, shifting to reveal the information that was 'lost' only to have it disappear a second later. The droid beeped loudly in alarm, jack spinning rapidly as it tried to reconnect to that it had just a moment before. It took a moment, but it reappeared once more.

Only to be lost a second later.

"…wait a minute." Naruto muttered, staring at the screen. Stepping back, he raised a brow and tapped his foot. "I've…heard of people blocking information, and people corrupting data from a distance…but not like this. This…needs a connection. It needs something to channel the signal to corrupt the data. It needs…"

Naruto knelt down, moving to the wiring. The little droid made a few noises of confusion as he got to work. Tracing each and every wire was tedious, and taxing even for one such as Naruto, but he'd gone through worse while training in the Temple.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Naruto muttered, yelping a second later as his fingers brushed against a loose wire. "Ignore that! I'm perfectly fine!"

The poor droid warbled softly, unused to people such as this. However, it was really something interesting to see; this human, so curious, so inquisitive. It was exciting! Turning quickly, it began seeking out any information to see if it could assist the boy's search.

"Okay, so this wire goes here, that goes there, and…for the love of – turn that light off please?!" Naruto asked, a red light blinking in his face. When it stopped blinking, Naruto sighed. "Thank you." A pause. "Wait, what were you looking at?"

Rolling out from under the table, he blinked as the droid pulled up the screen once more. It was exactly what it had been doing before, with corrupt files transferring in, and then suddenly back to being 'corrupt' or 'missing'. Looking from the files to the underside of the desk, he leaned back.

"No. It couldn't be that easy…" Sliding under the desk, he pat the droid's leg. "Again, do it again!"

The droid whistled happily, quickly letting its job be fulfilled for as many files as it could. The human had found something? Maybe it would stop whatever was undoing his work. That would be nice, it hated seeing everything it worked for undone. It was depressing.

"Okay, now, everything is probably going to go dark for a second, but~" Naruto muttered, pulling out the plug. The sound of powering down rang loudly in his ears, and he had to keep from wincing. "Okay, ow. Now, let's take off Mr. Red-and-Flashy here…" Replacing the plug, he grinned as it powered back on. "Awesome! Now, run it again! …hey, are you running it? Oh crap, are you still there?"

Reaching out, he groped blindly for the droid. What he touched instead was something much softer, like cloth, with something firm but most certainly not metal beneath. Freezing up, he lowly pushed on the wall above his head and slid out from under the desk. Chuckling softly, he winced at the dark look of the man standing over him.

"Um…hi?"

* * *

><p>AN: Hehe, well then, leaving it on a cliffhanger here, but then it just felt like the right place to leave on.<p>

The Psychometry scene was an absolute blast. It has a lot of stuff that I'm sure a lot of people can quite easily catch onto. For those who don't know what happened, basically Naruto was reliving the last moments of the mans life, as well as the "happiest moments" as well. If anyone liked the sequence, I may end up doing more in the future. Well, I _will_ do a few more, but that's besides the point. Don't worry, you'll see.

So until next time, this has been a very fun chapter of **From Darkness**, and I'll see you all next time!


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>An'ya Kuro knew much about the Chommell Sector from the information given to her by Master Tahl and the archive. The people of Naboo were human, many doing their best to trace their lineage back to the original settlers of Naboo. It made for an interesting read, though it was rather dry compared to some of the other planets she had to read.<p>

This though, was different completely. These creatures were certainly sentient and seemed rather…welcoming, and had led her to a lake. It had taken a second of confusion, but seeing them move into the water gave her the warning needed to grab her rebreather so as to follow them.

The view was breathtaking, and were it not for the fact she had seen many sights that were so diverse that she simply let herself observe the bubble-like structures that were these creatures homes. The glow of light that came from it was spectacular, making her pause in her approach. When they walked through the bubble, she hesitantly followed them in, blinking at the sensation of walking into an area that was both dry and rather temperate. It wasn't like the atmosphere of the planet above in terms of a city like Theed, but from a more humid standpoint like the swamp it was rather similar.

She could hear the chatter of the others, some calling out in greeting of their fellow…whatever their species was. Others were calling for something else, or rather someone else named Rugor. Her eyes roamed the inside of the bubbles, noticing behind them that there were several bubbles that seemed to be in construction. So there was plenty more that they were doing with the place? Interesting.

Seeing someone approaching her, she bowed to them as they road up on a kaddu, one of the indigenous creatures of the world. "Hey, whosa yousa?"

"My name is of no concern, however you may refer to me as the Dark Woman. I am a Jedi Master from off of the planet Naboo." Kuro said slowly, keeping her eyes on them. "I was tasked with finding the person who was causing trouble for the people of Naboo, and upon realizing that we had received no information from you and your people, I determined that I needed to learn more from…" She glanced to them with a curious look. "…forgive me if I am very ignorant to your species. There…was no information as to even your existence."

The male on the kaddu snorted, slipping off the creature and standing before him. "Wesa are da Gungan's. Wesa have been around longer dan da Naboo, und we have built much undah watah. I am Roos Tarpals. Welcome to Otoh Gunga Dark Woman."

Kuro nodded slowly, the accent of the Gungan simple enough to understand though a bit grating on her nerves. "Otoh Gunga. It is a pleasure to meet your people Roos." Sinking into the Force, she took a deep breath as she focused on what to ask. "With your permission, may I receive an audience with your leader? I need to know about a human who has been roaming the swamps and causing trouble near your borders."

"You wantah speak with da boss?" Roos raised an eyebrow at this, but seemed more bemused. "We were gonna take yousa to da boss anyway."

"…I hope I wasn't intruding on your land upon coming here. It wasn't my intention. I was simply following the Force."

"Da Force?" Roos said, glancing to another Gungan curiously. Shrugging, he shook his head. "You were on our land, but wesa simply want yousa to meet with da boss."

"Then that's where I need to be." Kuro replied, having heard enough from him and from the Force that this boss was who she needed to speak with. "By your leave…"

X-=-x

"Whossa dis?"

Kuro looked to the Gungan, who had been introduced as Boss Rugor Nass, with a scrutinizing look in her eyes. The Gungan was a much burlier looking Gungan, with a more thickset look than some of the others she'd seen. Rather than having a thin neck and orange skin, he had a thick neck and green skin; likely he was among the subspecies of the Gungan. He had been walking through the halls of Otoh Gunga, giving orders and she'd even seen him step forward and help adjust some of the power levels on one of the devices that was being worked on.

She bowed to the boss in a show of respect. "I am known as the Dark Woman, a Jedi from Coruscant, come to assist in finding someone who's been causing problems near here."

"Hm…" Boss Nass muttered, looking her over. "Why did yousa come here then?"

"I was told I was to come to assist the 'residence of Naboo'. They didn't specify which residents." Kuro smirked slightly at that, enjoying that slight loophole in wording. "It would also stand to reason that your people would have more knowledge as to the on goings in the swamp."

"Why should wesa be helping yousa? Wesa no care about da Naboo." Boss Nass said, clicking his lips in annoyance.

"Because whoever is doing this has killed someone, likely wouldn't think twice about killing one of you, and if I don't find out what they're doing in _your_ swamp than it's possible that things could go sour." Raising her hands, she stared at the Boss with her voice slightly laced with the Force. "Perhaps, rather than speak about this in the streets, we can go somewhere that we can discuss this?"

Boss Nass hummed softly, thinking it over. Turning to the other Gungan's, he barked out a few orders to get them back to work as he walked down the hall away from where they were working. "Come!"

Kuro glanced to Roos, who was shaking his head. Seeing her look, he shrugged. "Is like da boss to do dat. Maybe dissa be a good ting, maybe dissa be a bad ting. Only one way to find out."

Nodding, she made her way down the hallway, eyes going over the watery view. While it wasn't the airy, sun filled land of the surface, there was no denying that Otoh Gunga held just as much beauty in it as Theed; if a different, unique quality to that made it quite obvious that it _wasn't_ made by the people of Naboo. Seeing the two different kinds of Gungan walking around, she turned to Roos. "What is the difference between the two types of Gungan's? I see that there are many of you with different physiology…"

"Is two different kind of Gungan. One is Ankura, da other is da Otolla. Gungan's have long history, mucha wars we be havin, but we come togethah as Gungan's to form Otoh Gunga." Roos motioned to the city around them. "Dis is what Gungan's can do. Dis is da strength of working togethah."

Kuro nodded, filing that slip of the tongue for later. "It's like nothing I've seen on any world I've ever been to. There's so many things about Naboo that are…surprisingly unique. The technology, the interworking and methods just can't be found anywhere else so far as I've seen. Then again, your species is found nowhere else in the universe."

"Eh?" Roos asked, not seeming to understand exactly what she meant.

Kuro shrugged. "It's nothing. I just…sometimes I forget that there are some species that haven't expanded beyond their home world." Seeing Roos' very perplexed, and distant expression, she sighed as she realized that she might've said to much. "I'm sorry if that sounds critical, but it's very true. There are even some species that went so far as to submit to slavery in order to help their species expand throughout the universe. To think that there are some that remain on their home world is…commendable I suppose."

Without the last words, she might've convinced him that she was simply making an observation. However, with them Roos found himself glancing towards the ceiling of their bubble, eyes looking past to the surface of the water. Beyond that, he knew the surface of the swamps, but even further? To the cities of Naboo? To the skies above? Few Gungan's ever dreamed of such things, and many of those ended up being recruited to deep sea exploration instead as that was the closest thing any of them knew to the unknown region of the skies and beyond.

He was broken from his musings as he almost ran into a younger Gungan who stumbled through the halls. "Hey! Jar Jar, what is you doing?"

"Eh? Oh, heyo captin Tarpals! Long timeo no see." The new Gungun, Jar Jar, greeted Tarpals with a grin.

"Ayah," Roos palmed his face with a groan of dissatisfaction. "Jar Jar, yousa be getten yourself into trouble onea des days."

"I'ma getting bettah though! Maybe mesa even be strong enough for da Big Nasty Free-For-All next year!" Jar Jar stood up straight, flexing his muscles. Though Kuro was not expert on Gungan physiology, she was fairly certain he was simply average, though he seemed to think he was more.

"Jar Jar, what is you doin' here?" Roos asked, knowing that no matter what he asked, it wouldn't be what he expected, or wanted to hear.

"Mesa trainin'!" Jar Jar said, hopping in place as he flexed his legs. "Mesa gettin' ready!"

"Jar Jar, we just _had_ Big Nasty Free-For-All."

"But next year mesa get further in da Free-For-All!"

Kuro glanced between the two of them sensing that there was something she was missing between these two. Likely Jar Jar was a troublemaker, as each move he made was scrutinized by Roos. Thinking it over, she sighed and placed a hand on Jar Jar's shoulder and focused on the Force. While she wasn't sure about how strong Gungan's willpower was, or if they were resistant to the Mind Trick, she figured that something simple and subtle would not only allow her to quickly test this but help Roos. In her mind, it was simply her way of helping Roos for all that he had been doing to help her.

"Jar Jar, why don't you focus? After all, you sound quite convinced. Perhaps, a bit more practice on coordinating so that you can put what you know to the best of use?" She said, her words guided carefully by the Force.

Jar Jar's eyes went distant for a second, every word she said seemed to hold him on edge. Then, with a nod, he grinned toothily and stepped back. "Yeah, das a great idea! Mesa do dat right now!"

Watching as Jar Jar put one step literally in front of the other to 'coordinate' his movements, she felt Roos looking at her. "…yes Roos?"

"Why you do dat Dark Woman?" Roos asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Jar Jar…mesa know Jar Jar longo time. Good distraction, very clumsy. No good for jobs or othah work."

"Because everyone deserves a chance." Kuro shrugged. "My own students are often considered too violent to be taught, or to out of control for any other teacher. Sometimes all it takes to bring out the very best in a person is…a special touch."

Roos considered what she said, the idea of simply finding the 'right' job for Jar Jar feeling somewhat impossible. Jar Jar had been through so many things already, bouncing from place to place, job to job, and yet still had not found what Jar Jar was good at. His clumsy nature simply made him incompatible with anything any normal being could possibly do.

"Besides," She continued, ignoring Roos' inner turmoil. "Maybe there's something more to him than meets the eyes. You'd be surprised how often the people who you meet have a very…strange effect on those around them." Laughing softly, she shook her head. "My current student, Naruto…he's got that kind of aura. He's go that personality, the kind that'll draw in people and change them in ways they never knew possible."

"Yousa too?" Roos asked, raising a brow in confusion.

"…me? Well," Kuro tapped her chin, pondering that question. "It's certainly possible. However, we'll just have to see if anything will happen I suppose. The Force knows, and the Force will guide me."

"Da Force...?" Roos shook his head. "By du guds, you are a very strange Dark Woman."

"Maybe," Kuro shrugged. "But then, the Force has lead me to wherever I'm needing to go. It has a tendency to take me wherever it pleases after all."

Roos shook his head. Turning back to where Boss Nass had gone, he decided to drop it and move on. Maybe one day he'd actually take the time to try to understand, but right now she just seemed to out there for him to feel he could understand.

x-=-x

If there was anything that Kuro was expecting, it wasn't to be greeted by Boss Nass at a table with a small meal. The Gungan slapped his knee as he chuckled at her stunned expression. There were things from all throughout the waters from fish to strange water dwelling vegetables and the like.

Eating her food slowly, she savored the surprisingly tasty foods that were served as she and Boss Nass talked. He was quite humble, despite his seemingly loud and boisterous nature. He waved off the fact that he'd gotten to such a position at his age despite some others who were more politically qualified due to his leadership abilities and stern but fair treatment of all. Much of what she was learning about him came from Roos, who was thankfully kind enough to fill her in on the details; the strong drink he seemed to have taken a shine to might've added to that though.

"Hesa won da Free-For-All three years in a row!" Roos said with a laugh as Boss Nass tried to wave his hands dismissively. "Mesa was der! Mesa fought him! Like no othah Gungan mesa evah did see!"

"Roos, you did good too! Almost second place winnah if you didn't go against me." Boss Nass said, giving Roos a strong pat on the back. "Best challenge of dem! Is why you are commander in da armies now. Good mind, good arms, and strong leader…dat makes you grand!"

"Oh, you just say dat." Roos said, wobbling in place from the pat on the back. "Mesa still longo way to go before mesa be messin' with yousa again."

"Maybe next festival, yousa show me real good!" Boss Nass said, grinning widely as he took a drink and sighed. "Is good to see da youngin's be gettin' strongah every year! Da Gungan race is filled with da best of peoples!"

"Here here!" Roos said with another laugh, drinking down his own drink. With a slight wobble, he slowly sank to his side, softly moaning in semi-consciousness.

"Hehehe." Boss Nass chuckled, shaking his head at the sight. "But den no othah Gungan can drink me undah da table either! Hahaha!"

"Charming." Kuro said with a roll of her eyes, avoiding the strong drink as she preferred to keep a clear head while discussing with the Gungan. "If I may though, you did have me come back here for a reason, no?"

"Mm." Boss Nass glanced to her, slapping his knee once more. Like the crash of a wave his demeanor changed, from happily guzzling his drink to a man who was leader of the Gungan's, and ready to do business. "Yes. Yousa sayin' you were sent to help da 'residents of Naboo.' Yousa also be sayin' theres be someone out der that be messing with da Naboo?"

"Someone who's either using your swamps as a cover for their activities, or who's searching for something here." Kuro said, nodding to his response. "I've only been here a day, but I'm here to piece things together. If I can't help stop them, then at the very least I can help prepare people for whatever may come next."

"And why is we needin' to be carin' about da Naboo?" Boss Nass asked, his former smile slowly shifting into a frown.

"Because we're not caring for _the_ Naboo. We're caring for _Naboo_." Kuro corrected him, getting his undivided attention. "Your planet has many materials that might be useful to others from galaxies in the universe; minerals, gems, foliage, a plasma core, even artistically designed structures that have stood for eons. There are corporations who would pay just to see you, and your people, and the people of Naboo, put out of the way so they could get to it."

"And yousa be think, that we be helping ourselves?" Boss Nass asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps. And perhaps…with the right work, we could bring this to your benefit." Kuro said, the Force now guiding her words. "You're a man of your people, and I do respect your position in that regard. If you were to help me in this investigation, I promise that your name and your people will be given the credit for finding the piece that solved this mystery."

Boss Nass crossed his arms defensively, though his eyes still held a twinkle of curiosity. "And why we be doing dat? We don't need da recognition of da Naboo."

"No, but the help of the Naboo might mean more opportunities for the Gungans. After all, your race was once divided was it not? And because of their unity they built this grand city." Kuro motioned to Otoh Gunga, her face shifting to a look of awe. "If the two Gungans were able to do this…imagine how much could be added from you to them if they had your help?"

Kuro chose her words carefully, though the Force was her true guide in this matter. While her mind wanted initially to say how much the Naboo could benefit them, the Force told her that it would be the _Gungans_ who would help the Naboo. How and why, she did not know; all she needed to know was that she was a vessel for the Force to guide this union of species to make the planet a better place.

Boss Nass considered this silently, mulling over the options placed before him. It was clear that this woman meant what she said, and knew that there were many things that could be benefited from by the people of Naboo. However, "Mesa no thinkin' dis be a grand idea. Mesa be thing dis break Gungans. How do you know dis we should be doing?"

"…I don't." Kuro shook her head, sighing as she found the Force was leaving the direction of the conversation up to her. "However, whatever choice you make, will affect you, and your people, for years to come. I've seen it happen on worlds upon worlds as I've traveled the stars. I don't claim that my advice is the right advice to be giving you, or that the Gungans will become a world power that will spread throughout the galaxy. What I am saying though, is that the choice is here, and I've given you what I can do. To see the Gungans rise even beyond to waters unknown…would be quite the interesting sight to see."

There was a moment of silence as Boss Nass took in what she was saying. He was not the Boss of the Gungans for nothing. Thinking it over, he slowly stood up. Walking over to the edge of the bubble, he hummed as he considered the possibilities.

What she said had brought something to his attention that he hadn't thought of concerning this. While he could imagine the surprise of the Naboo if their technology had bits of their own helping to change, or even power it, he could also see their spacecrafts. He'd seen them before, watched them take off from the safety of the swamp. It was often a sight to behold, as well as a thing of terror at times since they had no idea how such things were meant to work. All of their technology was based on organic things, using bio-mechanical engineering as well as various other methods to achieve their creations so that they could withstand the pressure of the deep and the waters all around them while still giving them access to those same bubbles or vehicles. To have the Naboo teach them about their mechanics…

"Mesa be hearing about a dark shadow cast upon our swamp." Boss Nass said slowly, never turning to face Kuro. "Wesa be hearing, they be searching in da caves, looking for ways to find da core. Wesa no like them in our swamp, and wesa destroyed da caves to keep dem from coming back."

"Ah, so you destroyed that cave?" Kuro asked, recalling the cave which she'd found before she'd found the Gungans.

"Nn. It went near straight down towards de planet core. Notin' of interest besides dat." Boss Nass said, turning to Kuro.

"…but that _is_ of interest." Kuro whispered softly. "If it goes near straight down, then it likely goes over plasma veins. Plasma is a…very sought after commodity. If there were people who were setting up a mining facility, they'd want to get samples of the plasma before they receive it or commit to mining. It's possible –"

"Dat dis'un human is trying to mess with de planet core?" Boss Nass finished with a raised brow at the ludicrous nature of this human. Even though it was plasma, it was still at intense temperatures that couldn't be confronted by normal means."

"He wouldn't even have to go that far. He'd simply need to get to a vein of the plasma, and he'd be able to mine from there, digging deeper until he could get to a vein of plasma rich enough that he could harvest and sell it under the noses of the people of Naboo." Kuro scoffed silently at this idea, shaking her head. "They'd have to be mad to even consider it what with the traffic control alone being a maze to maneuver, but…if they were successful…"

"Den dey would be coming here." Boss Nass growled gruffly, clenching his hand into a fist. "Wesa no likin' dat. Wesa be ready to fight dem if dey try and come!"

"There won't be a need now that I know what they're after." Kuro said, moving to her feet. "Now I know what I'm looking for, which will make finding whoever this is much less of a hassle, and make my work far more coordinated." Thinking it over, she felt the Force drawing her back towards her student and by proxy Theed. "I need to return to the Naboo. What is the fastest way to get there?"

"Hm…" Boss Nass scratched his head, glancing to the waters beside him. "De planet core is de fastest, but also quite dangerous. Bad bammin. Mesa lend up mah finest kaddu. It will take you to des Naboo."

"I thank you for your assistance." Kuro said, holding out her hand to Boss Nass. "We'll take care of the figure, and then I'll see what we can do to help you with the Naboo."

Boss Nass stared at her hand for a moment before gripping it with his own. "Mesa havin' to talk to de council about dis. They no likin' da Naboo…they maybe no likin' dis plan."

"…I know you'll find a way. And if not, then your people will continue in history as the mythical saviors in the swamp." Kuro said with a bemused smile. "Thank you again Boss Nass."

"Don't be tankin' me yet! Mesa still got to convince dem!" Boss Nass slapped his chest gruffly. "Wesa are a grand people! Wesa no be just myth for littleuns."

A full, uninhibited smile adorned her face at that statement. "I'm certain you will."

x-=-x

"And just _what_ do you think you're doing here?"

"Um –"

"This is no place for a kid. Why would you come all this way after…never mind. You're leaving, now."

Naruto stared up at the angry guard, not sure what to do. The little droid next to him warbled nervously, jack still spinning as it tried to finish cleaning up the corrupted and misplaced files. "But sir, you don't understand I –"

"No. _You_ don't seem to understand. This area is sectioned off, and there is an investigation going on."

"Um, yeah about that." Naruto said, trying to get the man's attention. "I'm trying to –"

"To what? Steal an astromech droid and make off like nothing is wrong?"

"What? No! How dare you!" Naruto pulled himself to his feet and stomped his foot. "I hate droids! Why would I steal one?!" Hearing a sad whistle, he glanced to his companion. "You're the exception for now. You're growing on me, but don't push it."

"Will you stop that?"

Naruto winced, and reached out with the Force. "Look, we're here to help, okay?"

The man, Panaka if his nameplate was anything to go by, gave Naruto a deadpanned look as he crossed his arms. "Oh really?"

"_Well, it was worth a shot."_ Naruto inwardly mussed. While he'd trained in all manner of Force techniques, even several of the more obscure ones, he'd struggled, and wrestled with one such technique that simply didn't seem to work out for him; the Mind Trick. He'd learned from his instructors that it was likely due to his own mind putting up a barrier between him and the power due to his nature, but he figured that the Force just didn't want him to be able to get off easy in situations like this. It was a cruel irony, but he got the tradeoff of super awesome other abilities, so he felt he won in the end.

"Alright, I let you slide earlier when we found you asleep in the speeder, but this is much too far." Grabbing Naruto's arm, he attempted to drag him out of the building.

"Hey! Let go of me, this is - wait, you_ found_ me in the speeder?" Naruto asked, stumbling forwards as he tried to fight Panaka's the grip on his arm.

"Yes, we found you asleep in the speeder, trying to skip class like a hooligan." Panaka said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Could _one_ thing go right today?

"What happened to Zel then?"

"Look, I don't care what you're excuse is I…" The question caught Panaka off guard. He'd expected to hear any number of excuses; from 'I was framed' to 'a Wookie ate my homework'. However, he was almost certain that he couldn't have met Zel. "…excuse me?"

"Well, he was my drive. I mean, our driver. My master and I went into the swamp to look at where your guard friend-guy was found, and…well I'd been training before we got here, and I feel asleep." Naruto kicked at the ground sheepishly. "Next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of a classroom, teaching a bunch of people about the evils of droids and the simplicity of reprogramming them." Remembering his new 'friend' he quickly waved his hand at it. "Don't worry, still not you. I don't even think I know how to mess around with you anyways. Plus, you're cool. You're helping me."

"Your…master?" Those words stuck in Panaka's mind, and he had to physically take a step back to look the boy over.

His tunic and clothing were fairly standard galactic clothing, found almost anywhere in the galaxy. His hair was cut short, though was unruly and spiky on top, with one part on the right side of his face left just a bit longer than the rest. The whisker marks on his cheeks were likely just a birthmark, but now that he looked at them they might've been from some other species from the galaxy. Now that he could see him awake and alert, he could tell that there was something in his stance that warned him that he was facing a trained combatant. What kind of eleven year old was combat ready like this?

The boy, oblivious to his scrutiny, answered the question. "Oh yeah! Master Kuro's still out there last I checked! I should call her." Pulling out his comlink, he flinched as he heard static. "Oi, what gives?" Turning to the droid, he raised an eyebrow to it. "You know anything about this?"

Panaka glanced to the droid, taking notice of it – _true_ notice – and realized that it was plugged into the mainframe and was messing around with it. Looking to the screen behind Naruto, he slowly stepped past the boy to get a better look at it. "…this is…impossible."

"Nah, it was hardware." Panaka turned around, seeing the little device that was in Naruto's hand as he waved it around. "I swear, no one checks the wires anymore. It's kinda sad when you think about it."

Slowly taking the device from Naruto, Panaka scrutinized it thoroughly. It wasn't Naboo made, and it certainly didn't belong anywhere in the room. "Where did you say you find this?"

"In the wiring. Someone had put it there so even if the droid tried to fix things, it would just recorrupt or re-lose the file. Thankfully some _genius_ installed a big flashing red light in it. Then again, if it didn't have a way to show it's working, I guess that would make it kind of pointless." Naruto shrugged, not caring to much as he didn't know a lot about little bugs like that.

It took everything Panaka had to keep from hitting his head against a wall. Something so small, so simple, had not only eluded them, but confounded them for months. They were so certain that it was a software issue, that someone had sent a virus, that none of them had even thought…or had they?

Panaka's eyes widened at that thought. He'd passed people here, good men and women who gave their lives in the service of Naboo. What if…they _had_ found it? What if they'd been killed because of it? Or worse, what if someone _within_ the guard had betrayed them and kept them from seeing it.

Having moved past the boy, his eyes were able to notice the dark figure in the hallway moving towards them. Though unable to see them, he _could _see one thing; the blaster aimed right at them.

"Get down!"

* * *

><p>AN: Yes another cliff hanger, but then we're getting to some of the good bits now!<p>

So, some of the changes I'm making should be pretty obvious by now, but one of the top ideas I've been working on was with Kuro here. _Man_ I've been wanting to do this for a while, especially since the Gungans are actually pretty cool with out their technology works, how their hierarchy was built, and so much more! They just had the misfortune of having Jar Jar be their representative in Episode I.

That being said, it's mainly because the Battle of Naboo _will_ happen. It'll just be...quite different. You'll see.

In the meantime, I'm getting myself all warmed up for some more chase and conflict, in the next chapter of **From Darkness.** See you all then!


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>"Get down!"<p>

The words seemed slow, and out of place. Naruto never saw it coming, but he certainly heard the sound of blaster fire. He could almost sense the heat of the oncoming bolt, meant to take his head off. There was nothing he could do, the blaster bolt moved to fast for his young reflexes. There were other options but then he didn't have access to any of those options fast enough. Silently, as the few happy moments of his life flashed before his eyes, he wondered if anyone would bother to look through his life for these happy moments.

Hearing a loud screeching yell, Naruto felt something slam into his side and shove him roughly onto the ground. The blaster bolt struck something, causing a series of pained beeps and whistles. There was loud yelling, and blaster fire shot from Panaka back at whoever was shooting.

Naruto stared at what had rammed into him with wide eyes as he crawled over to it. "What…did you?"

The little blue droid warbled softly, a very visible black mark against its cranium. Rubbing underneath it, he slowly leaned in and stared at the droid's eye. It looked back, trying to focus on him as it whistled questioningly.

"Huh? Oh! Um…I'm okay?" Naruto didn't know what it had asked but he got the impression that it wanted to know if he was okay. Patting its head, he laughed softly as his head fell. "Wow I…I don't even…"

Naruto became oblivious to the world around him, focused on the droid that just saved his life. For all intents and purposes, he shut down for a moment as he silently attempted to process this strange occurrence.

Thankfully for Naruto, Panaka was covering his moment as he shot back at the shadowed assailant. Whoever it was had attacked a child, and after all the death he'd seen, he be _damned_ if he let this child be even harmed in his presence without doing anything.

Whoever was firing at them backed off when Panaka began firing, turning his aim on him to return fire. As they exchanged fire, Panaka moved quickly for cover, diving behind a desk. Peaking around the corner of the desk, he turned and fired off a few shots before he was forced to roll back under cover. Whoever it was, they were a crack shot and it began to become more and more difficult for him to fire back.

Thinking about the room, he silently questioned how in the world this person was able to shoot at him from the doorway and had been able to avoid his shots. He knew himself to be a very good shot, but either this person was better at dodging or something was off.

Biting his lip, he looked over his gun and silently tried counting. It was getting tedious for him to try counting the number of shots, but he wasn't going to let up. Any time he thought things were getting to quiet, he'd whip around and blast a string of three shots before leaning back to avoid the retaliatory barrage.

Glancing to the boy, he grit his teeth as the boy just seemed to stare at the droid. Whatever was happening to the boy, it was a _very _poor choice in timing. Mulling over his options, he tried to think of something to do to help him. Thankfully, the little droid heard the shots being exchanged, and warbled softly as it nudged against him to push him to cover.

By the time the man turned and attempted to fire at the boy, he was behind cover. Panaka, taking advantage of the opening, shot at him once more. There was startled cursing as the person stumbled back, and he stood, pressing his advantage and kept shooting to drive them back. It took a second, but the sound of feet pounding down the hallway let him know that he was succeeding in pushing them back.

Keeping his blaster leveled down the hallway, he slowly moved over to the boy and knelt next to him. "Kid…are you okay?"

"…mhmm…" Naruto muttered, finally pulling his eyes from the little droid. "This little guy saved me. I…what's his name?"

Panaka stared at him for a couple of seconds, before checking the droid's identification. "Artoo, deetoo."

"Artoo…" Naruto muttered, rubbing the top of the droid. "…alright!" Panaka blinked as Naruto jumped to his feet, leaping across the table as he ran down the hallway. "Get back here you!"

"What the – no kid wait!" Panaka shouted, running down the hallway after him.

Poor R2 watched the small human running after his assailant, warbling softly in worry. Turning slowly, it followed after the two, wondering where this chase would lead them.

x-=-x

Kuro felt anxious as she rode the kaddu, the Force whispering nothing to her as she approached the city. In the distance, she could see the sun gently touching the top of the mountains, casting an ominous shadow across the city before her. She was still a ways away, but even seeing the walls of the city made her silently urge her kaddu faster.

She had thought that she would feel alright, and that the Force would help guide her where she needed to go. However, as she was scanning the Force, she felt a pause in the Force; a feeling of the Force being complete and utterly void in the city. It was something unprecedented, and for anyone who had dived deep into a bond with the Force, it was absolutely terrifying. She couldn't get guidance, couldn't receive direction, and for someone who relied on that as a part of her daily life she felt her face go stark white as she rode into the city.

It took her a little bit to bring her mind back to the world around her when she felt the Force around her trying silently to nudge her. Moving to where it was directing her, her eyes were drawn to where she could see the central communication hub. Frowning, she shook her head. "What are you showing me? What do I need to know?"

Almost as she asked this, the pause in the Force was released, and she felt a rush of the Force flood the city. Eyes wide, she motioned for the kaddu towards the tower.

In the Force she felt Naruto. And he was in trouble.

x-=-x

In hindsight, trying to chase down the assailant was a _bad_ idea.

Naruto knew he could outrun most people. He'd done this enough with the security at the temple to know that he was nimble and could get to anywhere he wanted to faster than anyone unaware of his presence.

This person was very aware, and since they knew, they were able to keep their advantage over Naruto. He hadn't noticed it at first, but this person was smart. He'd run through the area, trying to find whoever they were, but it had been through clear chance that he'd found them, looking around in confusion. Rushing down the hall, he let out a shout as he lowered his shoulder and attempted to slam into his knees.

The man jumped back, just barely avoiding the hit which left Naruto skidding down the hallway from the miss. Jumping back to his feet, he was forced to leap into a room to avoid the blaster bolt that came his way. Taking a deep breath, he drew in the Force as he tried to think of something that would help him.

Hearing them stomping towards him, he yelped and dove forward. Gripping the edge of a vent, he winced as it cut into his palms as he tried to yank it off. Of all the times for a grate to actually stay on, it had to be now.

Turning, he looked around as he tried to look for something around him for something to hide with. The room was completely open, likely an unused storage room by how few boxes were scattered around in it. None were big enough for him to hide in, and before he could finish thinking there was a shadow blocking the door as well.

"Oh –" Naruto began, but flinched when his throat clenched up and felt a sudden pressure against it. His eyes went wide, trying in vain to assess what was going on. Staring up at the shadow, he watched as their arm slowly raised up, and felt himself being lifted into the air. They could use the Force?!

"…is it you?" They said, voice clearly male. Stepping slowly into the room, he raised his arm till Naruto's legs were dangling wildly in the air with the pressure around his throat, gasping in desperation. Looking into the persons blue eyes, he heard a dark chuckle. "By the Force, it _is _you!"

The pressure on the Force on his throat slowly was released, and it was difficult to determine whether that was a good thing or a bad thing as he yelped and was dropped to the floor. Wincing, not sure whether his throat or his backside hurt more, Naruto glared up at the man. "Who – cough, cough – who are you?"

"Who am I?" The words rolled off his tongue as though he were questioning them himself. "Well, now that's a _very_ interesting question. In fact, why don't we waste more time with stupid questions? Who am I? What am I doing here? What have I been doing here? There are just so many questions, aren't there…Naruto?"

"…Zel?" Naruto muttered softly, getting glimpse under the hood at the man who'd been their speeder pilot.

"Zel." The man smirked, eyes darkening as he gripped Naruto's tunic and lifted him into the air once more. "Yes, that's good. But from you, I want to hear my whole name. Now say it…Zealot. _Darth_ Zealot."

His eyes shifted, flashing gold as the Force tightened around him. Naruto flinched as the Force tightened around him right before he was thrown down into a nearby crate. In that moment, Naruto felt afraid, staring up at someone who held power over him and for some reason seemed to be after him explicitly. As he crawled back, trying to think of something, he was forced to yelp as he was dragged back towards Zealot through the Force.

"Ah, ah Naruto. You were taught better than to feel fear." Zealot remarked, shaking his head and laughing darkly at him. "Oh, how the Jedi have fallen, to have allowed _you_ to be a Jedi. Heh, they shouldn't have even allowed you to leave the temple let alone the planet!"

"What…who are you?" Naruto asked, feeling his chest tightening as he felt his fear growing. This man, this person, this _monster _knew so much about him. How? He didn't know of any Jedi who'd left the Order, so…was this a Sith? Was this what a Sith was?

Stomping down on Naruto's chest, electing another yell of pain, he leaned all of his weight onto his leg as he stared down at Naruto's prone form. "You know, I'd have thought it'd be more obvious, but then, a couple of years away would do it. Of course, for me, I was able to evolve in ways you can't possibly begin to imagine. Once, I was a youngling like you. Now…I have left the past of Bruck behind me."

"…uh…" Naruto winced, his breath coming out in short gasps as he tried to focus. "Who…is Bruck?"

"…" Zealot stared at Naruto with hollow eyes for a second before leaning back. Lifting his weight off of Naruto, he brought his foot around to kick Naruto in the side. "You useless _brat!_ How _dare_ you forget me! After all that I did, after all my master did, you just _forgot?!_"

Naruto rolled away from Zealot, eyes wide as he hit the wall again. The Force was swirling around them both, his pain mixing with Zealot's anger, strengthening him as he raged on Naruto.

"The ignorance of the Jedi and their _arrogance_ never ceases to amuse me. You would think; people attack the temple, so we should teach the younglings, right? No! They don't even bother trying to cover it up, they just let everyone forget. I wouldn't be surprised if they went as far as to wipe your mind so that you wouldn't remember me or follow in my footsteps."

Naruto slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, coughing slightly as he tried to reorient himself. He silently hoped that Zealot didn't kick him while he was down, but hearing the clunk of his foot stepping forward, he just grit his teeth as he prepared for the impact. It didn't help much as he was flipped up into the wall once again.

Stepping away, Zealot shook out his hand as though he'd punched Naruto instead, turning away from Naruto as he tried to collect himself. His eyes had been getting the gold tint that revealed his true nature due to all his anger rolling through the Force. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, staring down at Naruto with a grin. "Okay, never mind then, it doesn't matter. What matters…is that you're here. You're here, and you've managed to mess up everything that I've been doing over the last couple of months. In one day, you and your master have mess up months of planning, months of waiting, and months of sabotage. Do you realize how that must make me feel?"

"…upset?" Naruto asked as he tried to push himself onto his hands and knees once more, unable to help himself with the cheeky response. He knew he had it coming, but there was something satisfying about pointing out the obvious. Feeling no foot kicking him, he slowly looked up at Zealot. Seeing him looking down at him, he raised an eyebrow weakly. "…am I wrong?"

"Actually, you're right on point." Zealot said, nodding slowly. Holding out his hand, he slowly began making a squeezing motion, which preceded the feeling of Naruto's throat once more being tightly gripped and raised into the air by some unknown force. No, it wasn't unknown. Zealot was choking him _with the Force_. "So at the very least, you'll know why I'm killing you. So, goodbye Naruto Uzu –"

"Put him down!"

Zealot rolled his eyes, slowly letting Naruto fall to the ground as his hands raised up in defense. "Ah, Panaka. I thought I lost you."

"You almost did, but then your yelling drew me here." Panaka said, pointing his blaster at the man's back. He watched with stern, unyielding eyes as he waited for him to make a move. He was sick of people getting around him, causing problems for him and the people of Naboo, and eluding him despite his best efforts. And now he knew why. "Zel…why did you do this?"

"Oh please, do you have any idea how easy this was?" Zealot muttered, shaking his head. "As soon as I had control over the records and could corrupt them at my leisure, you never even bothered to double checking. I just had to insert a false name that held no records that could be traced and say I was a transfer. You shrugged it off and let me do as I pleased, and now you're too late. There's nothing you can do to stop what I've done…and nothing you ever really _could _do to stop me."

Before Panaka could say anything to the contrary, there was a violent _snap-hiss_ and Zealot whipped around. While going for his outstretched arms was viable, he was tired of being chased, and had decided he'd had enough. Ducking low so as to dodge the blaster bolt, he whipped his carmine red shaded blade straight through Panaka's right leg just under his knee. Panaka made no startled noises, only a yell of pain through his teeth. Before he could regain his aim on Zealot, Naruto had flown through the air and was between the two.

"Ah, so sweet, but…" Aiming the lightsaber at Naruto's back, he chuckled softly. "Drop it, and slide it into the room."

Panaka panted, flinching as he tried to focus on what was in front of him. Gritting his teeth, he slowly set the blaster on the floor. Before he could even touch it, the blaster was violently slid into the room. Zealot apparently didn't trust Panaka, and with good reason.

"Such a fool." Zealot said softly, looking from him to Naruto. It would be so easy…so simple…but, "Time to go." Throwing Naruto at Panaka, he took a small hop backwards. "Think on it Naruto. You'd be surprised what the Order wants the galaxy to forget!"

Deactivating his lightsaber, he rushed down the hallway, doing his best to put as much distance between them as he could. Stepping on the dome of Artoo as he finally caught up with the group, he leapt over it as the poor droid let out a confused series of whistles as it spun in circles trying to figure out who to go towards. Taking advantage of the droid's confusion, he dove out a nearby window.

Left with one option, Artoo wheeled his way over to the two on the floor. Naruto had quickly rolled off the poor man, flailing slightly as he tried desperately to figure out what to do. "I-I-I wasn't trained for this! I'm not a doctor, I'm…" Naruto bit his lip. "A failure…"

Shaking his head, he slapped his face. He couldn't think like that! He was Naruto Uzumaki, greatest Jedi yet to be! Yes, he wasn't the greatest right now, but if he let one or two little things make him stumble than he had already failed. Still, what Zealot had told him stood out in his mind, making him silently wonder what he'd meant; what secrets had the Order kept from the Republic? And what secrets had they held back from him?

Looking down at Panaka, he quickly realized that Panaka was in _much_ dire straits than he was. "Oh crap, he…okay um…" Treating lightsaber wounds 101 hadn't been a class he'd been fortunate to attend due to the fact that there really wasn't any need for them to learn the skill. Still, he had a medkit, and taking it out, he glanced to Panaka. "This might sting a bit."

x-=-x

Zealot was elated by the surprising amounts of success today. He'd actually been told that to finish his mission he was to leave no evidence of his presence on Naboo besides the few who had to be left alone. While he'd worked primarily as a scout, he'd also had to deal with communications to help make sure that none of them found his devices. A surprisingly large number of them had been susceptible to a subtle Mind Trick, a fact that had caused him no small amount of humor.

Then, of all things, the Jedi had finally sent someone to investigate. Taking initiative, he'd convinced the air control that they'd already told Panaka and several other people in authority so that they would be unaware of the Jedi's presence while he took them out into the swamp. The initial plan was to kill them, however he'd taken one look at the padawan and changed his plan.

It was him, the boy that had slowed him down, forced him to fight against that girl who'd driven him to leaping into the waters below the temple to escape. While it had lead him to meeting the greatest people he'd ever met in his life, it had left him with a lasting impression, and he'd been sure to burn their faces into his memory.

Vengeance for him though, wasn't about killing his opponent. No, he'd been so drawn in and taken by the dark side, that he wanted others to be drawn into the power like he'd been. He didn't want to kill the boy; he wanted to corrupt him. And Force willing, he would ensure that the seeds he'd sown would grow.

He flew through the city, making his way to the swoop he'd hidden in the shadows for his escape. Soon, he'd be free of this accursed, clearly light side oriented planet. As he approached though, his smirk slowly began fading as his pace dwindled to a stop. Turning ever so slowly, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the area.

"…I know you're there. I can't see you, but…you're there. I know it. Show yourself, or I will make you known."

"And how will you do that I wonder?" The voice felt like it came from the very air around him, having no specific origin, likely due to a force technique he didn't care for. "If you can't see me, why should I bother to unveil myself?"

"Because you Jedi are all the same." He said simply, closing his eyes as he allowed his senses to sink into the Force rather than allow his physical eyes to mislead him. "And because if you continue, I can imagine that the technique will drain you, and in the end you won't be able to keep it up for long."

There was a slight laugh as his proclamation. "Perhaps. But what if it's not what I need to defeat you?"

Zealot rolled his eyes behind his eyelids, laughing softly at the very idea of her not needing her strength to defeat him. "You say that like I don't already have multiple stops anyways."

There was a deafening silence at that filled the area, causing his smirk to reemerge. Slowly opening his eyes, he tilted his head as he looked at the woman standing before him. "Ah, so it's you? The woman who fought Xanatos. It's an honor."

"Who are you boy?" An'ya Kuro asked, eyeing the stranger with a scrutinizing gaze. She'd felt his presence, his anger, and his darkness. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that this man was trained in the Force, and that his training was most certainly not that of the Jedi. There was no way any Jedi would train someone who was not only embracing, but had become soaked in the darkness of the dark side of the Force.

"I'm just a youngling, too old for any of your Jedi tricks to affect me anymore." He said, holding his hands to the side with a smirk. "I'd call myself a padawan, but I've long since learned that Xanatos was hardly a master. If anything, calling him anything less than a self-serving fool would be too much."

"…no, you can't possibly be that boy." Kuro's eyes widened, not wanting to believe what she was seeing.

"Why can't it be? Because you don't want it to be? Because I'm just one of many stains the Jedi seek to hide?" Zealot scoffed. "I am beyond your simpleminded Jedi ways. I have ascended past what you've looked at as order and tranquility and realized that it's all a farce. My masters are older than time, and ancient in their ways."

"The Sith." Kuro's teeth grit as she stared at him. The idea of a Sith being in the universe was something like a black mark on the ranks of the Jedi.

"Mm, something like that. But then, you killed anyone who could teach me." Zealot wavered, looking like he had something he wanted to say, but didn't want to reveal it too soon. "Ah well, I suppose the fact that the precious members of your Order weren't able to completely stop the Sith from writing their knowledge down isn't something to be ashamed of. After all, there are many stars in the galaxy, and there is so much to be seen that even you people can't possibly have found yet."

Kuro filed that information away, knowing that despite her next question she would be unable to truly get any answers from him. "…what do you mean?"

"All good things in time. Or in the words of the fool Yoda, patience you must have. Blech."

"I am not as patient a woman as you might have been led to believe." She flicked her wrist, violet blade of her lightsaber igniting with a violent _snap-hiss._ "Whether you want to or not, you _will_ tell me –"

Before she had a chance to finish, her blade was in motion, blocking a sudden burst of blaster fire. Glaring at him, he shrugged as he peppered her with several more bolts. "Sorry, but I don't take orders from the Jedi."

She blocked each shot, attempting to redirect it back at him, only to have him continually moving towards his hidden swoop. When he was within reach, he shot just above her, getting her to flinch in an attempt to block it as he jumped onto his swoop. Powering it on as quick as possible, he gunned the engines and shot out of the alley. Head kept low, he could hear the hum of the lightsaber that nearly cut through his swoop.

Leaning back as he shot down the streets at high speed, he leaned back and waved cheerily. "So long, Jedi fool!"

Kuro stared at his fleeing form, lips pressed in a thin line. Slowly, she deactivated her lightsaber and sharply exhaled. Focusing on the Force, she began moving where she knew she needed to be. Seeing it wasn't following the rogue boy, she paused as she wondered what would happen if she went against it and chased him down. Knowing that if it had been the best option it would've been shown to her, she let it go and moved on. There might come a time when she would be called by the Force to chase him down again, but for now she would remember him, memorize his face, and report back to the Jedi Council.

Bruck Chun had been found, and he'd been dabbling in very, very dark arts.

x-=-x

Zealot had taken several swoops to get back to his ship, hidden away in the greatest hiding spot possible; the middle of the shipyard. Walking up the ramp, he slowly threw back his hood and shook his flattened hair as he chuckled softly. This whole mission had been on giant playground for him, and with his job done, he was _finally_ leaving. Flipping several switched, he stared out into the night sky above him, slowly taking off to join it.

Closing his eyes, he let himself seep in the Force as he flew. Of those who practiced the Sith arts, he knew of his fate and the deformity that would eventually come from what he was doing with the Force. However, with the power, and the sensation of being capable of doing anything now at his fingertips, he didn't care.

It's what made him an invaluable acolyte.

He could be sent anywhere, at any time, and so long as he was allowed to sow the seeds of others destruction, to bring them down and crush them beneath his heel, he was fine. He was _happy_ to do it. So long as he could draw upon the dark side and feel the tantalizing power of darkness, and all the electrifying emotions that surged with the Force in ways a Jedi may never know, he could do anything.

Hearing a small chirping noise from his console, he groaned as he withdrew from meditation to answer the call. "Yes?" Seeing the holographic form of his master, his tone changed, and he respectfully bowed to him. "Master."

"How goes the work on Naboo, Zealot?" The voice was still raggedy sounding, the mechanics needed to allow the aged Munn to speak likely needing work.

Unable to help himself, he smirked. "All according to plan Master. The Naboo are in disarray, and the Trade Federation have the tantalizing readouts that we've wanted them to have. If they don't act soon, they'll miss their opportunity to enlarge their army and become the scapegoat that we can use to distract the Jedi." Knowing that they'd find out about their presence regardless, he decided that telling his master might allow him permission to further his work. "I was forced to engage a Jedi and her padawan while escaping, but they were easy to give the slip to. However, they learned that I was a…dark Jedi."

"Very good." There was a slight pause, as his master thought over what to say next. "And, what method did you use to elude the Jedi?"

"I left them enough clues to go on a wild goose chase for things that don't exist." He chuckled, remembering what he'd told the woman. "They believe that I found holocrons, and have been learning from them. After all, there's so much that the Jedi are afraid of finding, it would make sense that they've lost a few things in their searches. That…and I _have_ learned from them. I just had a much wiser, and stronger teacher to accompany them."

"Be careful my acolyte, least your arrogance becomes your downfall." His master reprimanded him.

Even from galaxies away, he could still feel the durasteel cold stare that was meant to chill his bones and break his spirits. "Of course master. I will work on it."

"Good." Leaning back, there was a silence between them as his master reviewed what to do next. "Return here at once. I have more training for your next objective. Be prepared. These trainings will not be for the faint of heart."

"Master, you spoil me with that which I will most gladly receive." He said with a bow, terminating the transmission.

Standing and walking back to the refresher, he removed his cloak and shirt before pausing and tracing the scars along his chest. Unlike some, he was not quite a combat oriented as he led others to believe, which had earned him many of these scars. What set him apart, was the fact that while he was indeed scarred and had his flesh torn in many places, each one was a reminder of the power he'd received because of it.

A burn here, from the power of Force Lightning, a mark there from being near impaled while learning how to truly master using Force Push with the dark side. He reveled in the challenge, the danger, and the power. Staring into a mirror, his lips parted into a serpent-like grin as his eyes shifted to a sickly sulfuric yellow.

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, I mentioned Bruck was still around right? Welp, he's coming back around, but there's far more than that on the horizon.<p>

There will be a bit more Naboo time to go over what just happened, but then their stay on Naboo in terms of what just happened is mainly due to the fact that it was his time to leave. Crossed paths and all that fun stuff, though honestly it was a lot of fun to write all the same.

Also, yes, it is _the_ R2-D2 that Naruto met. Explains a lot now doesn't it?

The fight scenes were shorter than they would be otherwise, but then Naruto's not up to that level of fighting (he's gonna get thrown around a bit) but then he also was separated from Kuro, and without a lightsaber. Next mission should have more fighting, but this...well, there will be a few more things to finish placing for when the cards are laid for all to see.

So, as I build that up, I'll see you all on the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars

I apologize to the people who've noticed my misuse of Galaxies verses galaxy when I'm thinking Universes. It's a minor detail, but I do feel a bit silly for making that mistake seeing how it's one galaxy, many universes. Hopefully I'll get that right from now on, though I may still make mistakes. Thank you to the people who've pointed it out, I really appreciate it.

So, in light of this, hopefully with a few better uses of galaxy, here's the next chapter of **From Darkness**!

* * *

><p>Kuro jogged slowly into the communications hub, thoughts distant as she looked for her apprentice. There was so much that had just happened, and it was taking her a moment to process it all. Bruck Chun had been found, and he'd allegedly found Sith artifacts that had trained him to becoming a Dark Jedi that was now opposing them.<p>

Were anyone to say he were a Sith she'd have likely snorted at them and reminded them that the Sith were an actual threat to the galaxy, and their training was like nothing many could possibly understand. Bruck was a spoiled child who'd found a shiny holocron, learned a couple of neat tricks, and thought himself superior to being called anything more than he was; a Dark Jedi. No, his use of a blaster had been proof enough of that, keeping her at a distance as he ran with his tail between his legs as soon as he realized she was there.

Still, he'd been in Naboo, he'd been right under their noses, and she'd missed him. While she knew of his and Xanatos' abilities with the use of Force Cloak, to be able to mask his intent and presence before a Master was a remarkable feat for a boy. Then again, she hadn't been actively searching for him, only for clues and the like that would lead her to where she needed to be at whatever moment the Force required her to be there.

This also posed another issue. She'd trained Jon long ago, and while her methods had been seen as extreme or uncouth, there was no denying her results in the end. With Aurra, there was a previously existing schism, the likes of which she had attempted to overcome on Ord Namurt, only for Aurra to be kidnapped while she'd stepped away.

And now, as she rounded the corner, she faced her newest apprentice with a far off look in her eyes as she watched him attempt to help the wounded Panaka. She'd sworn that she would keep a closer eye on her next padawan, that she wouldn't let it happen again, and that she'd be more careful. Already, she'd failed in two of those, and from the way Naruto's hands were shaking, it was likely that the boy had a close encounter with Bruck as well.

Taking a deep breath, she moved to Panaka's side and lifted him to his feet. Glancing down, she noted his severed leg and shook her head. His wound was already cauterized by way of a lightsaber, so they wouldn't be able to do anything drastic like reattach his leg. It was more likely that he'd be given a cybernetic leg, which would set him back just a bit in his duties, though hopefully not for long. Thankfully it had been a lightsaber wound, as if it had been something like a vibroblade or the like, she'd have been quite a bit late on helping as he'd have bled out.

"Master…" Naruto muttered, looking up at her with wide eyes. Her appearance besides him had startled him, and she had to pause at that look. There was so much fear in his eyes, and yet at the center of it all he was calm. Like the devastation of a whirlpool, dragging all of the emotions he had into a centered point where he could keep himself together despite how disoriented and disjointed his mind likely felt at the moment.

"Come Naruto, we need to get this man to a hospital." She said softly, motioning for Naruto to stand up. There would be a time to discuss what had happened. This moment was for finishing what had been started.

"Y-yes master." Naruto muttered, getting bumped by a small astromech droid. To her surprise, he rolled his eyes as it chirped and whistled at him. "Yeah, I heard her. I'm up, I'm up!"

Laughing softly, he lead the droid, her, and Panaka out of the building. His laugh had felt distant, and a bit hollow, and her gaze fell slightly as she considered the cause. Why had she not returned when she initially realized that she'd forgotten about him? Had her secondary mission been really so important?

"He's a strong kid." Panaka said, drawing her from her thoughts as he hobbled along next to her. "I've seen a lot of things, but for someone his age to just walk through a hallway of bodies, get attacked by Zel, and then just…walk it off. I don't know how he does it."

"…he's a Jedi." Kuro said softly, eyeing the boy as the bumped the little droid on its dome and tried to point it in the opposite direction of the hospital, clearly not knowing where he was going. "He's been trained in many ways, but even for me this is…unprecedented. I will have to speak with him about it later."

Panaka glanced at her, his emotions a turmoil that helped bury the feeling of pain from his leg. "Did he do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite. He's taken the Jedi's teachings and put them into practice. However…he's encountered this man before, and last time…things didn't go so well." Remembering the state Naruto had been in, she closed her eyes and hummed. "Last time he was left exhausted and hurt, and I fear that this may bring up those memories once more."

"…are you saying that kid has had some kind of shell shock? Like, some a soldier on the battlefield?" He felt unsure how to feel about that, the carefree looking kid before him reminding him nothing of such a person he'd ever met.

"Something to that extent." Remembering his home world, she slowly shook her head. "And perhaps, I should've realized that it was inevitable as well. For someone like him…"

"Like him?"

"He comes from far away. From a place that may not be found for another millennia, or perhaps may not be found again until another week has passed as the way there is never set. His world is shadowed, and the military appeared to be one of the highest ranking powers in his world." The image of those who'd chased them after they'd left the village still stood out blatantly when she thought back on the world. "If he had remained, it is likely that he'd have been forced to do exactly that; been a child soldier who'd have had to deal with things of this nature, perhaps even younger than he is now."

"…what kind of a world…" Panaka's voice was barely a whisper, the thought of someone forcing children to do battle, to go to war even, was disturbing. Their own children may have had to do many things, however much of it was based on their intelligence and ever growing wisdom, not combat abilities. He himself had been training in the Royal Guard for years, but that didn't mean he'd had to fight or do anything of that sort for a long, long time.

Kuro was silent, watching as Naruto turned back to her and waved at him. As he turned around, she saw several images before her. Each one she knew was of a possible future, but the fact that she saw three, and not two, made her close her eyes and sigh. "One that still has a hold on Naruto's fate, and his role in the Force. May the Force have mercy on him, and guide him safely."

And it would. Though how she was going to approach Naruto about this, might have something to do with that.

x-=-x

Naruto sat down in the waiting room, waiting for his master to finish checking Panaka into the hospital. While Panaka had immediately called for all ships off the planet to be halted, Kuro had plainly stated that it was likely already too late seeing how their communications had come back on shortly after she'd lost Zealot.

Staring at the white walls around him, he was silently grateful for the artistic nature and design that Naboo put into everything. Rather than having to stare at a wall that would likely have driven him crazy, he was finding his eyes tracing around the intricate curves, following them in no specific pattern as he watched the spirals 'crash' into one another.

Zealot. His mind had gone over everything that had happened, and he sat surprisingly still as he meditated on what he'd said. Each word was filled with mirth, with wrath, and with amusement, and with the Force at his beck and call, Naruto analyzed what had happened.

He'd been cocky, thinking that he'd lost Panaka, as well as gloating and mocking both Naruto and the Jedi Order. But he'd also been right in that as a Jedi he was supposed to abandon fear and focus. Yet he'd initially been stunned by his fear, and then felt it overwhelm and overpower him. It wasn't the Jedi way; fear led to anger, which led to hate, and caused suffering. So why had he felt so much fear?

"There is no emotion, there is peace."

What a lie. He'd felt emotion, and he'd felt peace, and the difference between them was far from distant. Yet because of his emotions, he couldn't always feel at peace.

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."

Naruto had never felt as ignorant as the moment he'd looked into Zealot's eyes. He'd thought he'd known so much about the Order, the universe, and even the Sith. Feeling the presence of even a Dark Jedi made him want to curl up on himself, to find some area of light where he could get away from the cold touch of the darkness.

"There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death…"

Naruto's head fell into his hands as he shook silently. Death. It had been right there, holding onto his throat with a grip like an iron vice, just waiting to snap him in two and cast him aside. How could the Jedi say that line with a straight face and not balk at it? It was truly a lie. Death was there, ever present and ever following all members of the galaxy. So why –

"There is the Force."

Naruto lifted his eyes, seeing the shadow of his master standing in front of him. "…master."

"You've done well, considering what's just happened." Kuro said, sitting next to him. "The doctors say that your medical attention, though a bit unnecessary, helped Panaka stay conscious despite pain that should have incapacitated him. Thanks to that, we're now able to let the Naboo take over for the search of our wayward Jedi."

"…who was he?" Naruto asked, remembering those blue eyes that had shifted in only one instant to gold. "He…talked to me, and it was almost like he knew me from even before…"

Kuro was silent, contemplating her response. Staring ahead of her, she slowly took a deep breath. "His name is Bruck Chun, former youngling of the Jedi Order, and associate to Xanatos during his attack on the Jedi Temple."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait, so he's _that_ Bruck? The one Aurra fought to protect me and my friends when he tried to hurt us because we almost got in the way of their plans?"

"Yes Naruto, that Bruck. And it seems, he's found several Sith artifacts that he's using to gain power."

"For what?" Naruto's face was scrunched up in confusion as he tried to think over that information.

"I don't know…" She said softly. His entire purpose here seemed rather trivial, and if anything, the fact that he was the one connected to getting the scans on the plasma core was worrying to her. "However, it's not something you need worry yourself with."

"But it is!" Seeing her look at him with a flat stare at his loud declaration, he returned it with much determination. "If I can't understand why he wants power, how can I look at me and say that I'm doing any better? I mean, what if he has family or friends he's protecting? What if he's really a good guy?"

"Would a good guy cut off a person's leg simply because they were in the way? Would they shoot those who called them friend as they walked away from them?" Kuro countered, desiring to squash Naruto's negative outlook on himself as much as she wanted him to abandon the thoughts of Zealot and his reasoning. "You are looking too deeply into this Naruto. Sometimes, there are people out there who gain power for nothing more than having that power to use over others."

"…so he's stupid?"

That hadn't been the response she'd been expecting, and it took her a second to think it over. "No, I wouldn't say that. Misguided maybe, but he was able to outmaneuver the Naboo guard for quite some time."

"That's not what I meant." Naruto shook his head, crossing his arms as he tried to think of how to express his thoughts. "What I mean is…he's stupid. No, that's not it, he's selfish. Selfish, and weak, and trying to figure out how to make himself stronger without having to look outside of himself."

Kuro was silent, taking in what Naruto was saying as she considered his response. "Perhaps, that would be a good way of describing him. What you say though is that there is another way. And what way is that?"

"To have bonds with people." Naruto said simply, nodding with a sage-like look on his face. "To be connected to people, and to find happiness first, so that they can help you become better and lift you higher while you help them and lift them higher."

"Be careful with those thoughts Naruto. Attachments can be dangerous, and blind you to the Force." She said sternly, getting a defiant look in return from Naruto.

"Not if you're able to stay focused." Naruto's face scrunched up as he grit his teeth, mind moving as quick as it could to find some counter to what she was insinuating. "I mean…yeah, sometimes your friends can make mistakes. But, if you have a strong bond with them, you can keep them from making it again because you can help them. And if you make mistakes, they can help you too. It's like…trading? No, not trading. Um…uh…" Scratching his head, he grumbled silently. "Okay, so I don't know _what_ a good symbol of that is, but I think the point is obvious right?"

"You aren't listening to what I'm saying Naruto." She said with a strong sigh. "These things can blind you not only to others, but to the Force. The Force connects us, guides us, and flows through us. If we have attachments outside of the Force, it dampens that, making it harder to hear, making us weaker because we cannot touch it the way we need to. Even your very name is something you're attached to, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but that's not –"

"Do you know what they call me Naruto?"

Naruto was silent, knowing what she was referring to all too well. It was the name others referred to her as, and the name that was a symbol of her 'throwing off' the name she'd been given at birth. "The Dark Woman."

"Yes Naruto, that's right. And I am called as such because I have followed the Force into the darkness and drawn those who hide there into the light. I have forced many who have thought themselves capable of being invisible to the galaxy to show themselves and their works, and made them accountable. I do not claim I've had success in all my doings, but I know that the Force is my guide, and it has not led me astray." She said resolutely, slapping her hand on her knee. "So when I say these things, do not presume to speak to me of your theories that these attachments will strengthen you. The only attachment you need, is the Force."

"You're wrong."

The words had slipped past his lips even before he'd realized he'd said them. He made no move to cover his mouth, but his now ridged form told her he knew he'd made a mistake. She was doing her part as his master to train him, to teach him, and he'd just said she was _wrong?_ Almost a second later though, his countenance relaxed and his eyes were once more filled with defiance as he looked up at her.

"…we shall see."

She stood from her spot next to him and began walking towards the door. Naruto was a troublemaker, a bit of a vagabond, and a friend to many. But the worst flaw that Kuro could see in him wasn't his defiance. No, that attribute could become almost as remarkable as he was; it would keep him safe from the call of the dark side given the right teaching. The thing that worried her with that defiance was his mind.

He was smart, knowledgeable in many ways, and the Force flowed through him as it did many others. However, with that mind came questions; some of which he'd need to find his own answer for. She would not instruct him on that which was his to learn, but on the things that she could she worried that Naruto's questions would bring up doubt in what she said. All she desired was to help him, to guide him, and he would throw it all away in the search for the answers to a question because of theories he had yet to find the words for.

Despite this, she found herself sighing in relief as he followed her out of the building. For a second, she had believed that he'd thought his words created a schism between them. For her, the idea of him desiring his own way, his own path as a Jedi, was admirable. She herself had seen that as something she'd wanted when she was but a youth. It was why she'd abandoned all attachments to become as close to the Force as she possibly could.

She only hoped that whatever Naruto's choice was, it was the right path to take.

x-=-x

_Two Days Later_

King Ars Veruna sat patiently as he listened to the reports from Panaka and the Dark Woman. His eyes were distant as he tried to take in this information, however, he found that his mind was uneasy as he considered what had happened.

When he'd asked for his Muunalist partner in business, Hugo Damask, to see if he could find a third party surveyor for the plasma veins near the area owned by the Gungans, he'd imagined that things would be a bit more subtle than they clearly had turned out to be. Eight dead and one put into the hospital was _far_ from what he'd been anticipating, though he silently figured that it was due to the unorthodox nature of his surveyors methods rather than an outright desire for killing that had done this.

Before he'd met with Panaka and the Dark Woman, he'd been elated to discover that the surveyor had not only been successful, but that he'd done a _remarkable_ job in doing so. He'd been able to track down and pinpoint multiple veins of various sizes in plasma that they could mine and sell to the universe at large. Though he knew that selling it to the Trade Federation had begun going sour already, with that much plasma in their planet, hopefully to be at their disposal soon, they could possibly even do without a third party to deal with people.

That being said, the Dark Woman had remained adamant about a certain fact; the Gungans were to be treated as equals, and that she was going to remain beyond her asked time to help in the 'reconciliation' of the two species to ensure that both parties were given an equal and fair trade in these endevors.

He hated the idea of sharing the lands plasma with those uncouth primitives. They had no need for the wealth that such a find would bring, and yet they stood defiantly between him and the untold riches that he may one day acquire should they simply _move_. And now, they had a Jedi backing them, which meant that he'd need to play his role as a political figure and determine how to go through with this without angering the people, the Jedi, and the Republic.

Still, this might prove profitable to him. "And you're saying that this, Boss Nass, is willing to speak to us? On our own grounds?"

"He did indeed." The Dark Woman said simply. "Should anything go wrong, he wanted to have the assurance that things would be…adequately taken care of, and that the trades between the two of you would not require my interference."

"A noble gesture, to be certain." Veruna muttered, tapping the seat of his throne slowly. Closing his eyes, he thought over the possibilities before him. Were he in the Gungans shoes, what would he view as the quickest way to make a political connection? Humming softly, he turned to Panaka. "What do you think of this?"

Panaka was silent, seated with his wounded leg situated uncomfortably. He'd required a bit of time to recover, but the man had been adamant about being before the king to give his part in the affairs. "It may be in our best interests to at the very least see what they have to offer. They know the swamps better than we do, and if they've managed to remain hidden from us for so long, then it's possible that there are other things in that swamp that we don't know about either."

That last statement caught Veruna's attention. Other things? Perhaps, even things that could be…useful to him. Thinking to the N-1 Starfighters he had being built, he silently wondered what manner of technology the Gungans used for travel. Surely they didn't use the kaddu for all of their traveling, so what else would they use? Perhaps, they had even found other things which the Naboo were ignorant of. Cures for diseases they had thought lost, sites of history lost to the swamplands that they called home, and perhaps the most important part in his mind at the moment; weaponry they didn't think possible.

With a small smirk, he finally saw himself in Boss Nass' position. Of _course_ he'd want to hold the meeting here; it was a place where Veruna held power, and by coming here it took part of the power he held away from him. However, if _he_ went to the Gungans home, then it would put them on even footing. It would show some measure of respect for the primitives, and allow their visits to be smoother, less choppy, and perhaps he'd be able to garner more support from the Naboo for his choice in meshing their unique cultures.

"Tell Boss Nass that I will happily accept him into my home." Veruna said slowly, getting a surprised reaction from Panaka. "However, I will not allow these discussions of trade and politics to be made only within my walls. Should he accept, I wish to join him in his own home, where I may speak with his council in their halls as he comes to speak to me in mine."

The Dark Woman's eyes were piercing, almost as though she could see right through him. His face never wavered though, and after a few moments, she seemed to accept his reasoning. "I will relay this request to Boss Nass. I hope that these discussions will be what you're hoping for. You'd be surprised at what these…primitives have to offer."

"Oh really?" Panaka said, voice holding trace bits of skepticism.

"Yes. Don't forget, it was a child born to a primitive world that found the data scrambler, and not you or your men Panaka." The Dark Woman chided, effectively silencing the man.

Looking around, and noting that the young man in question wasn't there, raised his own voice curiously. "Speaking of the young man, where is he? I would have believed that he'd come here with you after all that has occurred."

"He's with the Youth Legislative group he was sent to during our first day." Panaka looked away, remembering how it was him who'd first had him sent there. "He apparently had made a promise to one of those there about taking care of the scrambler so that none of them with corrupted information or lost files would have to go home."

"That's a preposterous idea." Veruna said simply, shaking his head in exasperation. "We wouldn't send these children home simply because their information was lost. We might have their names logged elsewhere so as to investigate them at another point, but without the evidence to prove their lack of authenticity we couldn't legally send them home as the issue is not with them but with our own files. Who would think such a thing?"

"Well, the children for one." Panaka replied with a sigh. "Apparently they had found during one of their discussions that most of them would send the others home were their information not found. Something about 'eliminating future competition'." He paused, weakly chuckling. "Naruto said he'd take care of that too if that happened. Crazy kid."

"Crazy he may be, but his actions speak loudly about his character and state of being." Veruna said with a small nod. "I would presume that the droid that accompanied and assisted with the finding of the data corruption has also been taken care of?"

"Yes sir. We've send him to get the damage to him taken care of. It was a grazing shot, but…" Panaka shook his head. "I've never seen a droid so crazy as to throw itself in front of a blaster bolt for some kid."

"That boy has always had a way of connecting quickly with others." The Dark Woman remarked, getting a raised brow from Veruna.

"I see. Then perhaps one day I will be able to see him personally and thank him for his efforts to defend Naboo. Were it not for the circumstances, I would happily award him for his efforts." Veruna said.

"A reward –"

"We're already giving him one." Panaka said, cutting off the Dark Woman, who seemed surprised by this proclamation. "Last night, when we sent Artoo back to get worked on, he asked if we could make something for him; an empty cylinder with a design fitting of those of Naboo."

"An empty cylinder…" Veruna's eyes glanced to the Dark Woman, who seemed more at ease upon hearing his request. Eyes darting down to her hip, he shook his head. "What a very strange boy."

"You have no idea." Panaka muttered.

"In any case, I'm sure you're aware of the nature of politics Dark Woman." Veruna returned his attention to her, recalling one key fact that he needed to confirm with her. "Does the boy know, and understand that should you remain on the planet, it will likely be months before we finish reaching the consensus benefiting both the Naboo and Gungan people?"

"I do, and he does as well." She replied, having already gone over the information. "It's likely why he asked for his particular… 'reward', as it will take some time to make, but will be done before he returns with me to Coruscant."

"I see." Veruna silently wondered if during that time he could somehow convince the boy to remain on Naboo. It seemed thus far that he was rather taken by the world, and if he were constructing his own lightsaber to have the artistic look of Naboo, it was likely he wanted to keep that piece of the world close to him. Or, perhaps it was simply a memorabilia that would remind him of the world during future endeavors, allowing him to recall a mission that by all accounts shouldn't have gone the way it inevitably had.

Shaking his head ever so slightly, he inwardly chided himself at the thought. The Jedi were a strange, and foreign group that he only knew about from the things he'd been told. To have one, a trained youth at that, under his command would be simply preposterous. Their views were meant to protect the galaxy, not one planet. With ideals such as that, it was likely that even with persuasion he would be unable to sway the boy to his way of thinking. He knew of Jedi who'd left the Order at one point or another, but most who had the option of doing so remained in the Order, and became legends amongst the great beings known as Jedi.

Still, even if only with one piece of Naboo ever held at his side, it may be worth it to have someone speak to him at some point. Someone close to him, who might be able to convince him. Perhaps someone who simply would speak to him and persuade him to _think_ about it. After all, an idea was a powerful thing in the hands of the right people.

"Thank you once again Dark Woman. Your actions, and efforts, have greatly helped us. Once you've heard back from the Gungans, I will see to it that our negotiations begin." He gave a slight bow to her, smile never leaving his lips.

The Dark Woman bowed back, her eyes still holding that haunting, piercing look in her eyes. For a brief instant, he wondered if she knew his thoughts, and that he planned to try and sway her padawan to remain on the planet. In the next it was gone, followed by her and Panaka leaving the room. Letting out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, he turned to one of his advisors.

"Bring me a list of those who are acquainted with this boy in the Youth Legislative Program. I do not wish to press the matter, but if the boy is holding a fondness for our home…I would happily arrange a way for him to stay."

"Yes my lord." The servant said with a bow, scurrying off to carry out his king's wish.

Closing his eyes, he smiled at the idea of having a Jedi guarding him. Even if it took a bit of time for his efforts to take hold, he could wait. After all, with a few months' time, he'd have a lot of memories to look back on should he ever desire a place to call his own.

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter was fun to write, and I have to say, there's a lot of things that needed to be shown. My personal favorite is the thing towards the end that's a very big clue as to where Naruto's going for the next chapter or two for a quick interlude. I bet everyone can see it, and you're all curious as to how it'll go for him.<p>

Well then, this has been a ton of fun, and there'll certainly be more to come in the next chapter of **From Darkness**. Till next time!


	17. Chapter 17

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p><em>Three Months Later<em>

Naruto lay on the beach, staring up at the sky wistfully as he took in the sights and sounds. It was calm, soothing, and so very peaceful. Were he anyone else, he might've enjoyed the quiet sound of the birds, the waves brushing against his feet like those who were currently enjoying the retreat. He might've been running across the sands with the others, cheerfully enjoying the bright and sunny day.

He was not most of these people. "This is so _boring_." Glancing at the person sitting next to him, he pouted as they shook their head. "Don't you give me that look. I know what I said Padme."

"Yes, the great Naruto is easily being bested by a vacation he was technically not a part of." Padme said with a giggle, shaking her head at Naruto's antics. "Honestly Naruto, do you ever relax?"

"I can relax when I'm passed out from training…again…" Naruto pointed at her, trying to stop her inevitable giggling. "And you _know_ that I'm being serious."

Padme sighed, nodding at that. She hadn't ever seen what he actually did, but then from what he looked like when he came back, it was likely that whatever it was he was putting himself through, it was painful. "So…tomorrow's the day huh?"

"Hm? Oh…yeah, I guess it is." Naruto muttered, eyes distant as he realized what she meant. "…has it really been that long already?"

"Well, I suppose not every day can be filled with dodging blaster fire and fighting evil double agents, now can it?" Padme asked, getting a flat look from Naruto.

"And none of that would have been known, or a problem, if _someone_ hadn't told everyone that I was behind it." Naruto grumbled softly, shaking his head.

Padme rolled her eyes at that. "You enjoy the limelight almost as much as you enjoyed telling what happened."

Naruto looked away, not wanting to admit that she was right. "…sure I did."

The last three months had been very strange in the young man's mind. While the changes that were being made were very slow, and very infrequent, he'd seen that there were a few things changing. His master had allowed him to see Otoh Gunga, and sit in on a few of the meetings to listen to the politicians hash out the details of the many treaties they were making. As such, seeing Gungans ridding kaddu was becoming a bit more commonplace in Theed, though he imagined that within the next year there would be some who might even consider living in Theed itself to help with the trade between the two species.

For Naruto though, things had been rather curious in his mind. He'd not told a soul about what he'd done, he'd avoided anything that would give him praise simply because he _knew_ he didn't need it; he was awesome enough that getting hundreds of adoring fans didn't appeal to him as much. That, and he hadn't done it for fame, fortune, or anything else like that. He'd done it because he'd promised Padme and Sabe that he would help them, and everyone else who had corrupted or misplaced files.

So when he'd been sent to the Youth Legislative Program to say hi to his friends, he'd been shocked when he was all but dragged into the room and bombarded with questions. The only reason he knew why everyone had found out about his involvement was because he'd caught sight of an embarrassed Sabe mouthing 'sorry' from the corner.

Thankfully, he was more than capable of taking care of himself in the public eye. He'd been a prank master, a hooligan, and a political debater on occasion, so taking a place where all eyes were quite literally on him was almost a second nature. That being said, it was also something that made him uncomfortable seeing how that meant that should he want to make a daring escape or otherwise do something he shouldn't do, _all eyes were on him._ It was a very give and take kind of scenario.

Unfortunately, several of the kids had taken a shine to him and he found himself constantly getting bombarded by other questions about the Order, how many places he'd been to, and how much he enjoyed Naboo. He'd very calmly disarmed most of them with quick answers, but some kept pressing and asking. While it had given Naruto more incentive to finish learning some of his techniques he hadn't mastered, none of them were fully ready before this trip, which made mastering them almost useless in the end.

Shaking his head, he chided himself for thinking that. Mastering those techniques was something that masters would take years on, and something he _had_ taken years on, but had ignored practicing how long they took to form. He'd forgotten the feeling of something driving him, making him anxious, nervous even, and he'd lost the initial edge he'd had when he'd started.

Being five years old when it happened would do that to you.

Six years. Naruto mused it was a long time, but to have so much happen and then only have the most fleeting of memories of what happened worried him. He'd kept keepsakes of Aurra so he'd never forget her face, he'd spared with his friends and made sure his skills were never to dull, and he'd practiced connecting to and using the Force so that he'd never be without it. And yet through all that work, training, and learning, he'd forgotten what had been the crux of it all.

Bruck Chun was a phantom that had lingered silently in the back of his mind. He'd never really remembered his name because he'd only seen the boy in passing. When they finally had met, he'd unleashed the dark side and…something had happened. Something that had terrified his young mind, but something he also couldn't remember.

Naruto frowned at that, closing his eyes as he tried to meditate while lying down. He'd encountered it before while meditating normally, a block in his mind created by the Force, but he'd never felt it while using alchaka. Alchaka was meant to deepen one's physical connection to the Force, not to search one's mind for that which could destabilize them. Until now, Naruto had no reason to meditate normally, seeing how his normal meditation didn't have any purpose, use, or otherwise redeeming qualities. He now lay on the grass wishing he'd listened to Ali-Alann during his lectures on meditation.

There was nothing he knew about such obstructions from what he'd learned in holocrons, or other texts. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that the aged instructor had said something about people with some kind of…something, which blocked out memories. Groaning, he shook his head. "This is getting me nowhere."

To his surprise, he felt himself flinch as someone began touching his hair. It was a strange sensation; most people tended to ruffle it since he was younger than them, but this was…more soothing. Glancing up, he noticed Padme had shifted over and was stroking his hair quietly. Seeing his expression, she slowly shrugged. "My mother used to do it all the time when I was frustrated. I thought that maybe it might help."

Naruto blinked silently, letting that sink in. Surprisingly, despite the memory block he was struggling with, he still recalled his home; if only in bits and pieces of it. He knew he had no one like that back home, that there was no one to care for him like this. Closing his eyes, he allowed her to continue as she hummed a soft melody.

The place, the scene, and her touch all seemed to coincide together quite well. Harmonizing with the Force, he felt himself almost able to sink into meditation. He was so close, he could feel that mental block just within his reach. Maybe, just maybe, he could unravel it and open its secrets.

Sadly, today was not that day. "Naruto!"

The hand on his head shot back, and Naruto groaned as he sat up. "Hey Ian, what's up?"

"Come on, we're going swimming!" Ian Lago, one of the boys he'd befriended, was waving him over. He had an odd look on his face, but seemed resigned about whatever was on his thoughts.

Naruto glanced up to Padme, who rolled her eyes. "What, am I holding you back? Go, have fun with the other boys. Show them a couple of your neat tricks."

"Hm," Naruto chuckled, rolling back before bouncing to his feet. "Nah, I only do that on special occasions." Glancing back to her, he raised an eyebrow. "You coming?"

"No, I'm going to just relax here a bit. Go, have fun." Padme said, adding the last bit when she saw him hesitate. As Naruto finally shrugged and ran over to join the other boys in the lake, Padme flinched upon seeing Sabe roll up next to her. "Not a word…"

"You like him~" Sabe said coyly, giggling at Padme's expression.

"He's a good guy, and he's helped us a lot." Turning to Sabe, she poked the other girl's forehead. "Besides, I'm not the only one."

"Hey, that's not fair." Sabe said through giggles, shaking her head as she watched the boys messing around with Naruto, who was clearly their physical superior as he dodged and weaved amongst them. "I mean, he helped out a lot of people when he came here, and he's been kinda…stuck with us ever since. It's only fair that we make things as nice for him as possible, and if we like him then all the better right?"

Padme rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but then you also told everyone about what he did too."

"I thought that's what he'd like." Sabe said with a pout, rolling over and crossing her arms. "I didn't know he was the conservative hero type. When he jumped off the balcony, that's definitely not the impression he left us with."

"No, but he didn't leave us with the impression that he was looking for this much attention either." Padme remarked, eyeing the gaggle of guys surrounding Naruto. "It…almost feels strange."

Sabe stared up at her friend, slowly repositioning herself to sit next to her. "Is something wrong?"

"…no, it's nothing. Just a weird feeling, that's all." Padme said, shaking her head.

While she certainly didn't believe her, Sabe let it go. "So, have you heard that Senator Palpatine was thinking of coming back to hear more about the Gungans?"

"The senator himself?" Padme's eyes widened in disbelief before thinking it over. "Well, the Gungans presence does mean Senator Palpatine will be representing them on the planet as well as the Naboo. Maybe he's looking to see if the Gungans want their own voice heard in the Senate? I mean, they aren't technically part of the Republic, even though we are."

"They're not? But…they live on Naboo." Sabe asked, curiously thinking it over.

"Well, yes they're on Naboo, but their species only lives here. If they were elsewhere in the galaxy maybe they would already be considered as part of the Republic, but since they were…'discovered' it'll take some time to integrate them and their existence into our treaties seeing how even we didn't know they existed till now."

"Oh, well then." Sabe shook her head, sighing softly. "You're a lot better at the politics stuff than I am Padme. I never would have thought of that…"

"Well, I just pay attention during class, instead of looking at one of the boys that you fancy." Padme grinned, poking Sabe's side.

"Hey! That's not fair…I still pay _some_ attention to the classes." Sabe said, trying to swat Padme's hand.

"Sure, of course you do." Padme sighed, leaning back as they watched him dive into the lake. "…do you think he'll stay?"

"Hm?"

"Naruto. I've heard some of the boys ask if he wanted to stay with us, to…become a politician, or maybe a stand in for when the king needs to go off world. I've even heard that there are some of our classmates who think he could be king himself."

"That's just silly though." Seeing the serious look on her face, she glanced between Padme and Naruto with a hint of awe. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Of course I am. It's in the law that no one from outside Naboo can gain that kind of positon of power, and yet some of them are looking into how to overrule it so that Naruto can stay around." She shook her head, scowling softly. "I guess they don't see it though, so I don't blame them."

"…blame them for what?"

"Not seeing that Naruto's not meant for politics." She said simple. Watching as he burst from the water with an excited whoop, she shook her head. "He's good at debating, he's able to convince people to take his side, but that's not what he _wants _to do. At least, not just here. He's a Jedi. Jedi travel the universe, looking for people in trouble and helping them. He's got too big of a heart to stay in one place forever to help just one group of people."

"…oh." Sabe bit her lip, looking over to Naruto as he laughed and messed around with the rest of their class. "I never thought of it like that before. You're really observant Padme."

"You just need to look at him and you can tell. His eyes go up to the sky, waiting for his next big adventure in the galaxy, and he gets fidgety when discussing things." Padme said, shaking her head as she turned to go back into the estate. "I'll meet you inside when you're done."

"Okay." Sabe's voice was quiet and thoughtful, though mostly thinking on how 'observant' Padme had truly been.

x-=-x

Panaka walked forward slowly, still adjusting to his new leg as he watched the goodbyes between the Jedi and the citizens of Naboo. The Dark Woman, An'ya Kuro's, was short and sweet, only truly speaking to King Veruna and Boss Nass. Thanks to her efforts, their treaties had been formed, and already they were beginning to see the wisdom of the trading between them. While he'd initially been skeptical, he was pleased at the eventual outcome and its potential for the future.

Naruto's on the other hand was another matter. The poor boy was saying goodbye to all of Theed it seemed, though it was mainly his class and a few of the people he'd met with and visited while he was on the planet. Many kept trying to ask him to stay, but he had to turn them down, only promising that he'd come back. While it wasn't much, it was more than some could've asked for seeing how much the Jedi tended to move around.

It was strange in his mind, to think that the boy who he'd found asleep in a speeder was truly one of the Jedi. While he'd been asleep, he'd appeared as normal as any other child he now addressed. Yet now, seeing him awake, alert, and attentive, he could see the subtle shifts in his body that were more trained than one of the Junior Guardsman, and yet still as fluid as any politician. His eyes were gentle, but held the barest hint of an edge with it.

Truly this boy was no mere boy, though seeing him battered and wounded had also shaped his opinion on him. He was a Jedi, yes, but he was not without faults. Headstrong, reckless, and perhaps even to committed to helping people. One day, he silently worried that they'd be his end.

Hearing the beeping and whistling of a familiar droid, both Panaka and Naruto turned to its source. R2 was bouncing in place, clearly wanting some of Naruto's attention too. Naruto had taken a very clear shine to the droid that had saved his life, and had even asked for a spiral mark to be placed on its dome; something about his 'mark of approval' or something of the like. From what he understood, it was an old symbol from his home world that he used as his own to let people know he thought highly of the droid.

Walking over to the droid, Naruto rubbed its head with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm going to be heading off soon."

The little droid chirped brightly, turning its head to the ship. Naruto, catching its 'question', shook his head. "Sorry, but I need you to stay here, and keep an eye on things. Okay?"

The little R2 droid warbled sadly and looked at the ground, getting Naruto to wave his hands rapidly. "But I'll be back eventually! You're…my friend. Yeah, you're my friend. And when I make a promise to a friend, I keep it!"

Kuro eyed the encounter, shaking her head slightly at Naruto's attachment to the droid. She knew it would take more than her words for him to understand her meanings, but for the time being, she'd do what she could as a mentor to help steer him in the direction that would be more helpful to his progress, and development in the Force. Noting someone approaching Naruto, she raised a brow at his move towards Naruto, but made no motion to stop him. This was another thing that Naruto would need to learn about.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto blinked, turning to the voice only to find himself looking at King Veruna. While he'd met him a few times during the treaty debates with the Gungans, neither of them had spoken as there were other things to attend to at the time.

Remembering his manners, Naruto slowly bowed. "King Veruna."

"I apologize for taking so long with your request." Veruna pulled out a wooden box, that was highly decorated and clearly of much value. "When they'd begun your request, I'd been unaware of your quest for it, and asked them to add a few things to show that you'd earned the trust of the people of Naboo, but the respect of its king. Go on, open it."

With slow, hesitant movements, Naruto took the box and opened it. Inside was a lightsaber shoto, designed and forged to the specifications he'd asked. It had a ring just beneath the hilt-like emitter that was filled with the artistic and flow of nature that Naboo put into its designs. The handle was simple, but the bottom of the hilt was ornamented as well. It was clear that they had taken the design Naruto had asked them to place on R2's dome and expounded upon it, having it engraved into the base of the hilt to create a breathtaking design. The part that stood out to the people of Naboo, and Kuro, was that the entirety of the construct was plated with chrome.

"They took some liberties with the design of the base, but I do believe that the specs are as you requested." He said, a small smirk on his face as Naruto slowly felt the weight of it in his hands, a look of awe and wonder in his eyes. "From a man who has had much good come from your visit, we thank you for what you've done for us."

King Veruna bowed to Naruto, getting him to flinch. He didn't quite know what to say to that, and was left chuckling nervously. Royalty, bowing to him? It was a strange sight to see.

"Thank you King Veruna." Naruto said simply, returning the bow again before glancing at the lightsaber casing. "It's everything I hoped for and more. Um…did you want me to give the box back?"

King Veruna held up his hand and shook his head. "There is no need. It is part of the gift. A place to keep your gift, for when you are not out helping others like myself and my world."

Naruto slowly placed the lightsaber casing in the box and latched it shut, bowing fully to the man. "Please tell those who worked on this I am very grateful. It really means a lot that they did this."

King Veruna nodded, eyes glancing to Kuro as she shook her head at her padawan's motions. "Perhaps, we will see you once more in the future. Hopefully during times more pleasant than this began."

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Naruto nodded, straightening out as he smiled brightly. Feeling Kuro beginning to become impatient, he made his way over to her. "It was nice meeting you all. I'll see you all again someday! Take care of yourselves!"

"By Naruto!" A couple people from the crowd shouted back, waving to him as he walked up the ramp.

When the two of them were finally seated and ready to go, Kuro glanced at Naruto. He was idly looking over the box with a curious expression, as though expecting to find something hidden on its surface. "You seem rather attached to his world."

"Hm?" Naruto glanced to her, hands pausing over a few of the aesthetic gems that were on it before relaxing. "Well, they're really good people, and really nice too. I really do hope that we'll see them again someday."

"And…the lightsaber casing?"

"I'm really happy with it." Naruto beamed, opening the box to see it again before closing it with a smile. "It's more than I could ask for and more."

"I see." Beginning the ascent skywards, she glanced to him once more. "What about the box? It's fairly ornate for a tool such as that."

"Yeah, but I guess they thought it was important. Honestly I didn't need the box." Naruto shrugged, closing it once more. "It's just a nifty place to put my lightsaber now I guess."

"Hm…fair enough." With a few final buttons, she finished punching in the coordinates for Coruscant and pushed the hyperdrive forwards. In a bursting zoom of stars, they were launched back home.

x-=-x

_A Few Days Later_

After telling their tale to the Jedi Council, Naruto had been excused to go and relax for a brief interlude between missions, and to begin preparing for one of the big stepping stones of his training as a padawan. According to her, there was a small group of padawans who would be leaving soon for Illum, to find the crystals that would complete their lightsabers. While not an unheard of even to have a group go to the planet, Naruto had been surprised to learn it wasn't just any group of padawans either; it was his fellow younglings.

Rounding a corner, he grinned as he was greeted by the sight of his fellow younglings, now padawans approaching with their masters. "Jax, Yasuo, Sheeka!"

"Naruto!" Jax shouted back boisterously, stepping over to grab him in a big hug. Naruto felt the wind squeezed out of him, and once more he was reminded that Jax was a rather large figure for his age. "It's great to see you again!"

"Where have you been Naruto?" Yasuo asked, leaning against the wall casually as he looked over between the two enthusiasts of the bunch.

"I went to Naboo!" Naruto said, waving his arms around. "And-and there was _so _much that happened! There was the ride there, and the swamp, and…uh…" Naruto glanced up, realizing that he had probably stopped the three with their masters on their way to report in for the trip to Illum. Looking between the three of them, he chuckled and scooted around them as he waved them along. "Um…hehe, I'll tell you guys later, okay?"

"Um, okay?" Sheeka asked, confused as to why Naruto seemed so nervous all of a sudden.

As Naruto raced to his room, Jax hummed softly. "Well that was weird. What do you think that was about?"

"He looked…troubled." Yasuo said softly, glancing up to the masters.

The three masters; Kit Fisto, Sifo-Dyas, and Feemor, all glanced to one another curiously. They'd seen Naruto at the padawan's training, and had noticed his outgoing, almost resplendent nature from when they'd first met him. Now though, while he had initially been bright and cheerful, he'd shrunk in on himself and seemed quiet upon seeing them, worried even.

Kit seemed the least worried and most confused, simply shrugging as he looked to where Naruto had run off to. Feemor was far more worried, fearing that the boy's exploits had instilled a silent fear of punishment for things he hadn't even done. Meanwhile Sifo-Dyas was turned to where Naruto had come from, wondering what they had missed during his three months away.

With only one true way to find out, he rallied them together. "We still have to meet with the Council. Come Yasuo, let's finish our preparations."

"Yes master." Yasuo said, following after him quickly.

Kit and Feemor glanced to one another before nodding, motioning for their padawans do follow as well. Whatever it was, they'd find out eventually. Though with Kuro as his master, it was likely that anything he had cooped up would have to come directly from him.

x-=-x

Naruto slipped into his room and let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Moving to his bed, his eyes were distant as he tried to process what had just happened.

"_They don't even bother trying to cover it up, they just let everyone forget. I wouldn't be surprised if they went as far as to wipe your mind so that you wouldn't remember me or follow in my footsteps."_

Why didn't he remember him? What was it that he had forgotten? Too many questions ran through Naruto's head at the moment and it was somewhat overwhelming. Leaning against his door, he slowly let himself slide down till he was seated on the floor, box with his lightsaber case on his lap.

Running his fingers over the box, he groaned as he tried to imagine himself in a Jedi Master's shoes. If someone evil had come someone else's way and done something to them, would he have wiped their minds? He didn't even question the resounding "no" that echoed in his mind. But another master, perhaps. Someone who didn't realize that doing so would affect him later. Would they?

Recalling the obstruction in his mind, he played with the idea of prodding it again but found himself hesitant. What would he find there? What secrets had been locked away? And more importantly, who had locked them there?

"_Oh, how the Jedi have fallen, to have allowed __you __to be a Jedi."_

Naruto shook his head. Whatever it was, it could wait. Before he could think further on this path his fingers pushed down on one of the gems on the lid, and a small click was heard. Looking down at it, he was stunned when a holoprojection of King Veruna appeared before him.

"Naruto." The voice was crisp, and clear, as though he were standing before the man again. "I would like to once more express my gratitude to you for your service to our people. Without your assistance, and that of your master, we would have been lost as to what was occurring, and possibly never discovered who was behind these attacks. I gave you this box, with the hilt you asked to be constructed, as well as this message. Should you ever desire a place to call 'home', away from the Jedi Order, I promise that so long as you are the man you've proved yourself to be, you will always have a place amongst the people of Naboo.

"I understand that may not sound like much at the moment, however, I have seen many events that have transpired in the universe. I understand the burden you must bear, and hope that you will bear it well. But all people, Jedi or not, need something that allows them to be at ease. Someone at times, if you find that special person who will be the one to help bear all things. I hope that your path continues to lead you to where you will be most comfortable. And…may the Force be with you."

Naruto stared at the holoprojection for several seconds, continuing to do so even after the projection had faded. The king of Naboo, the lord over a planet, had promised him that Naboo would be a home to him? What had he done to deserve this? He was a child still, and while the attention was appreciated, he knew enough to know that it felt…tainted in some way. He was a Jedi, a guardian of the galaxy, and here was a man giving him an option that the Jedi may not approve of. Hearing that kind of confession from the king, hearing that kind of promise…Naruto began to feel slight stirrings of fear.

What if they made him forget? What if he wasn't allowed to remember this promise the king had made?

That was ridiculous. Why would the Jedi make him forget the innocent pledge of a king to someone who had only been there to help?

"_The ignorance of the Jedi and their __arrogance __never ceases to amuse me."_

Naruto shoved the box away, letting it slide next to his bed as he gripped his head. "I'm just a kid…I don't want all this. I just want to be a Jedi, and study, and grow as strong as Master Yoda…why…"

Curling up on himself, he bit his lip and shook his head. He wasn't going to a dark place. He wouldn't allow himself. Things like this he'd toughed out before, and he could do it again. The pressure though, to understand, to learn, to be wise…it was getting to him more than he realized. Begin away from Naboo, a place that felt calm, and like a haven, seemed to only amplify it.

Coruscant was not home. Coruscant was a place of learning, a school for the art of bringing peace to the galaxy. His home was lost to the galaxy, in a place he didn't know if he could ever return to. In that moment, Naruto realized he felt rather hollow inside; lost, alone, like he was sinking deeper into the depths of an ocean with nothing to pull himself to safety.

And so, in a room that had once been a place of solitude for years, Naruto found himself coming to terms with the idea that despite being surrounded by thousands of individuals, he felt very, very alone.

* * *

><p>AN: Quickly, before someone comments about Naruto being OOC or emo, the answer is "no he isn't". Reasoning? Well, he's been on Naboo for the last three months, and had time to let Bruck's words sink in, and to be honest, they weren't painting <em>anything<em> in a good light However, he also didn't have to deal with any Jedi other than his master, and he kind of created a small divide between the two of them already. Now, he's surrounded by Jedi, offered a "home" by the king of a planet, and remembering that his home world isn't even one where he can come or go as he pleases. Needless to say, if you think an eleven year old can take all that hitting them at once...I don't know what to say to that actually.

Anyways~ Naruto now has his lightsaber casing, the parts needed, and just one more piece to complete it; a lightsaber crystal. So next chapter (maybe more if it takes longer than I think) will be about Naruto finishing his lightsaber and reconnecting with the younglings.

So, until next time, this has been another pretty fun chapter of **From Darkness**.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The travel to Illum was met with an awkward silence. While in some cases it was peaceful, and the masters were mostly unaware of it, the young padawans knew better. It was strange, and made stranger still by the actions of Naruto throughout their travels.<p>

He was avoiding them. In fact, he was avoiding everyone on the ship. The padawans knew of his ability with Force Cloak from his descriptions of how he'd sneak around the temple, but when they wanted to speak to him they discovered just how proficient with it he'd become. When he didn't want to be found, one couldn't find him no matter how hard they looked. And worse still, whenever they could find him, someone would spook him by simply begin in the area and he'd once more vanish.

The ship wasn't overly large; it was a passenger ship designed for the Jedi to travel in small groups to planets where they could act together for whatever mission they may be on. Yet despite this, of the seven of them, none could get ahold of him. Not that the masters were trying very hard.

Unlike the padawans, while the masters didn't realize how awkward it was for Naruto to be acting so dodgy, they did recognize the signs of someone who was greatly troubled by something. Avoidance of others, hiding from friends, and they were fairly certain that when there were too many people in the dining area he was skipping meals. Or at least, he was until he could slip in and grab something while no one was there. It wasn't their place to act on their knowledge of this though; it was meant for his master, An'ya Kuro, to manage him in this time.

Kuro didn't do anything for her own reason. Her training was unorthodox, and this was perhaps one of the most painful for an outsider to view. She didn't go find her charge when they were in pain, or if they were troubled; she expected them to come to her, when the Force told them to come to her. She left them to their own devices, let them hurt, and let them come to the realization on their own. It was a game of patience, and she was quite good at waiting it out.

Still, there was a time and a place for such things, and leaving the boy with such troubled thoughts before going into Illum where he was meant to tune a crystal to be used in his lightsaber might cause him to take longer to do so due to his mental state. While the masters had tried to help quell their padawns worried when they voiced them, they too were affected by Naruto's absence.

Sheeka was one of the three who'd found the least solace, and was usually the one seeking him out when not meditating to prepare herself for their arrival. She trusted her master, Feemor, and was happy that when told that she still wanted to search for him that he agreed and allowed her permission to do so. While it was most likely that she'd have done it anyways, he understood her uncomfortableness with the situation, and had merely counseled her to be wary, and not let her mind stray from her task once she committed to it. It had helped her keep focused for the most part, but admittedly she did find her mind wandering on occasion as she searched the engine room again.

Her training under Feemor had been surprising, especially when he'd asked the council for her to be his padawan. It was only later that she'd discovered that one of her idols in the art of Makashi, Master Dooku, was one of the Jedi who'd seen and appraised her skills. According to Feemor, he'd thought highly of her potential and skills, and it had ultimately been the deciding factor that led him to taking his first padawan; her. Both of them were new, fresh to the idea of having a master/padawan, however thus far he'd been quite kind, and the cultivation of her abilities had made her feel that he genuinely cared about her wellbeing.

During her training, she'd been introduced to his master, Qui-gon Jinn, a master she knew by reputation through the temple, and Naruto. The man seemed much kinder than she remembered, and from their short talk, she got the impression that there was something that had happened between them. It had felt strained, and uncomfortable, though she'd eventually relaxed when Qui-gon spoke to her.

Gripping her nearly completed lightsaber, she rolled in her hands with a sigh. Leaning against the railing, she slid down and inspected it once more.

The lightsaber had been fashioned after the manner of a Makashi duelist; slender, form fitted to her hands, and with a slight curve at the end to help keep the lightsaber in her hand to keep her from being disarmed. Its design was simple, with an emitter guard along the curve to help prevent her hand from rising to far up towards the blade while helping her keep better control. Rolling it over in her hands, she laid her head back and sighed.

"Nawuto, you'we being weally dumb wight now, you know that?"

She didn't expect an answer. He hadn't before any time she'd muttered it before. Still, she felt that he needed to know her thoughts on his actions be made vocal.

Rolling to her feet, she checked the time and shook her head. They were almost at Illum, and soon they'd be disembarking. Glancing around the room again, she closed her eyes and sighed. With a sharp turn, she left the room to meet up with the others.

On the other side of the engine, wedge into a spot most other people couldn't fit to, Naruto silently stared at the ceiling with a lost look in his eyes, mind still plagued by the images and memories from when he'd returned to the temple.

"…yeah…I know."

x-=-x

"Naruto, so glad you could join us."

He couldn't help the flinch when he walked into the room, eyes darting amongst the masters there before sitting as far as he could away from them. He didn't trust them still, and as he fiddled with his shoto he felt that they could tell that. The boisterous greeting had been from Master Kit Fisto, who grinned brightly upon finally seeing the boy who'd hidden away the last few days. Naruto gave a weak smile in return, not wanting to upset the man. Feeling several other sets of eyes on him, Naruto eventually gave in and looked back.

His fellow padawans spared him at least one look, making sure that he saw their concerned looks before turning back to the viewport so they could watch their decent to Illum. The other masters didn't do any more than glance at him to acknowledge his presence, before returning their view to their own padawans and to Illum itself. All of the masters, except his own.

Kuro was silent, eyes forward, and her stance was that of one who was giving the oncoming planet their full attention. Naruto couldn't get a read on her in the slightest, and it worried him greatly. Had his words during the mission really broken them that much? Or perhaps, she'd found out about what he'd been told and was waiting for him to drop his guard? Perhaps he did know too much, and the council required her to keep an eye on him rather than train him now.

Naruto grit his teeth, sitting cross-legged he took a slow breath to try and meditate. He'd been unable to find any peace of mind on the way back from Naboo, in the temple, or anywhere on the trip. A small part of him recalled the message from King Veruna and almost wished he could go back to Naboo, if only because life seemed simpler there. No Jedi looking over his shoulder, no tension between him and his master, and no one running around trying to find him.

He shook his head. These were soft whining's he'd held in the back of his mind and he'd have no part of it. Stressed, worried, and edgy he may be, but he was still Naruto Uzumaki. He had made a promise to become powerful and super awesome Jedi someday, and he planned on keeping it!

Though, upon thinking about it, he felt his head drop with wide eyes as he realized something; he couldn't remember _why_ he'd made that promise. He could almost see it, a small group of kids making silly promises that had affected them to become the people they were now. But…_why?_ What drove him? What drove his fellow padawans to the lengths they now took to become so strong? Suddenly his chest felt tight, and his eyes were once more darting around in fear that the masters would feel his emotions. Cloaking himself, he forced his eyes down as he did his best to look as normal as possible.

In doing so, his eyes fell on his lightsaber, gripped tightly in his hand. The metal was smooth, and the designs flowed in an almost hypnotic way that he tried to allow to soothe him. At that moment though, Jax had decided he'd had enough of the silence between them all.

"Man, it's hard to believe that we've come this far." He said, grin mimicking that of his master. Lifting his lightsaber, he rolled it ever so slightly in his hands as he ran his fingers over it. "Soon, we'll be real Jedi…with real lightsabers! Man, this is going to be awesome."

"Calm down Jax," Yasuo said, rolling his eyes at his friends enthusiasm. "Besides, you're probably going to need two crystals for your oversized monstrosity of a lightsaber."

"Hey, just because I like the longer handle doesn't make it a monstrosity."

Naruto blinked, glancing up to really look at the lightsaber. It was long, almost double the length of a normal lightsaber. He'd occasionally seen some similar to what his was, and heard that there were some that built theirs as saberpikes, or even just used them as a cane. Jax's though was just long, and with his Shien style, it was likely to allow him even more control and maneuverability while he held it in a reverse grip. That, and with his larger, stronger physique, it would give him an even more powerful downswing while dueling. Naruto shuddered at the idea of sparing his friend with this new, improved lightsaber anywhere near his grip.

Of the three of them, Yasuo's and his own were likely the most 'normal'. It was very plain, a few knobs and dials where he could lengthen or shorten it at leisure. Remembering his preferred style was Ataru, and recalling a discussion he'd had with his friend, Naruto guessed that it was dual-phased so that it could shorten or lengthen during a fight to catch people by surprise. It had been a suggestion he'd made, and though there was little to suggest it, he found himself softly smiling all the same.

"Oh come on you two, give it a west alweady." Sheeka rolled her eyes at the two, both of them glancing at her before grinning to each other.

"I bet I'll get mine ready first." Jax said, a very triumphant look on his face.

"Hm, maybe, but then I've always been a bit better at harmonizing with the Force." Yasuo said, elbowing Jax with a chuckle. "Who knows? Maybe Sheeka will beat us both."

"Careful you two," Sifo-Dyas said, his own voice holding its own playfulness to it. "If you rush it, you'll miss out on the connection to your lightsaber that other Jedi have achieved. Remember, a lightsaber is not just a weapon. It is a tool."

A tool. Naruto's hands ran across it slowly, thinking about that word. He'd heard it so many times, but then at the same time he'd heard that it was 'an extension of oneself', and had even heard of some masters who were said to have become 'one with their lightsaber'. There were so many philosophies about lightsabers that it made his head spin some days while he'd been studying. The only thing worse to study was the Jedi Code.

"Strap yourselves in kids, we'll be down on the planet in just a few moments."

Naruto's thoughts were drawn away from his lightsaber as he slowly clipped it to his belt and did as he was told, the shaking of the ship a few moments later letting them know that they were entering the atmosphere. Soon, they'd be on Illum. Soon, their lightsabers, would be complete.

x-=-x

Naruto tightened his cloak around him, the frozen work around him seeming bleak and endless. Yet here they stood, standing at the base of one of the mountains that would give them access to the Agedan crystals that were held within. Rubbing the bridge of his nose gently, he glanced to where the others were.

Each of them were bundled as well, and they all looked to one another as they prepared themselves for the climb up. The ledge wasn't large enough for the ship to land, so the only way to it was to climb, and yet despite the cold, the daunting task ahead of them, and the knowledge that they were taking a much larger step into the universe, their faces beamed with excitement. Even Naruto, who's mind was clouded, and unfocused, couldn't help but smile as he prepared himself for the climb.

The masters stood by them, ready to help them along the way if need be. All of them knew that once inside it would be up to them to find what they were looking for. Whatever crystal they chose, and whatever challenges they faced would be up to them once inside.

Still, they all were more than happy to race to the mountainside, climbing up with almost practiced ease as they followed paths that had been travelled by padawans of generations past who had climbed this mountains.

Their masters followed, all of them doing their best to keep an eye on their own while at the same time covering for each other as well. There were dangers on this world besides the weather, primarily gorgodon's which were known to occasionally travel close to this region. Thankfully, as their padawans began pulling themselves onto the ledge, it appeared that they were in the clear for the time being.

As they began looking around the area, a few of them began to note the structure of the caverns entrance, Naruto in particular taking a step forward to run his hands along the walls as the masters pulled themselves up behind them. "Masters…what is this place? I thought you said this was just a cave?"

"It is, but that's perhaps only partly true." Kuro replied, answering her student's question. "This place is more than just some place alongside a mountain. This place was once the Jedi Temple of Illum. It was abandoned when the area was deemed unsafe, however it was built on the caves wherein you'll be finding the crystals for your lightsabers."

Naruto nodded slowly, fingers tracing over the etchings slowly while his eyes darted to the images that had been etched into the wall. There were few, and most were far between, but they were there.

Sheeka glanced to Naruto, fully bundled and shivering slightly. "How can you just walk around without gloves on Nawuto?"

"Uh…I never thought about it?" Naruto said honestly, getting a bemused expression from his friends. "I'm serious! It doesn't get that cold on Coruscant, so I never noticed anything about the cold."

"It still has a winter season, so it does get cold…" Jax thought aloud, recalling how Naruto had seemed rather used to the weather even when everyone else had been bundling up and preparing themselves for the oncoming cold. "Maybe it's just his alchaka training being put to use."

"Or maybe he just forgot about how cold it was until we pointed it out." Yasuo remarked, gently wrapping his arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Come on, let's head inside."

Naruto numbly nodded, following them inside. The four masters looked to one another before stepping in far enough to be free from the effects of the world around them while still allowing their padawans to venture in alone. In here, they wouldn't be needed. In here, the Force would guide them, and see to their needs.

"…how long do you think they'll take?" Feemor asked, recalling only his own time meditating on his lightsaber crystal. He hadn't had need to change it after he'd graduated, and still retained the lightsaber crystal from his first journey onto Illum all those years before.

"Depends. Sometimes it takes a short while, other times they have their own trials that they'll need to overcome." Sifo-Dyas sighed, shaking his head. "I swear though, sometimes the will of the Force is strange. I've heard of everything from a regular trip, to hallucinations of masters long since gone in these caves. The strength of the Force here…sometimes I worry about it."

"We understand your concern, but they're much stronger than we often give them credit for." Kuro said, looking into the darkness of the cavern with a critical eye. "They will emerge, and they will overcome their obstacles."

"Besides, they're friends. If anything happens, they'll take care of each other." Kit Fisto remarked, grinning with a soft chuckle. "I've seen groups close like them before. They'll be just fine, you'll see."

"…" Feemor's eyes stared into the darkness, silently wanting to believe in the words of his fellow masters. Still, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry for the padawans, as none of them truly knew what each padawans would be pit against while down here.

x-=-x

In the caverns of Illum, there were many Adegan crystals scattered throughout the room. To the untrained eye, the shimmer of blue and green would seem like an endless sea of possibilities. Through the Force though, the padawans knew better. Many of these were mainly Kathracite crystals, which were meant more for training sabers due to their inability to properly focus energy, and their none existent connection to the Force.

No, the type of crystal these four were looking for were Mephite crystals. Amongst the hundreds of crystals in the room, there were several that called out to them through the Force. Their unique, though weak Force connection was what they were after, seeking them to allow a bond to be formed between themselves, the Force, and their lightsaber.

Shortly after they entered they grinned to each other and split onto their own paths to find the crystals that called to them through the Force. Yasuo sat to meditate with Sheeka on the other side of the room, while Naruto and Jax began looking with their eyes and attempting to sense through the Force.

Naruto found that his search began calming him some. For a moment, he didn't need to focus on anything but the Force. Each step began a rhythmic flow of motion, the Force traveling through it as he used alchaka's leg movements in his steps to help keep him connected to the Force while he searched. Looking at the world, this cavern, through his own eyes wouldn't be nearly enough. For this he'd need his bond with the Force, his curious nature, and a desire to follow whatever he'd just seen moving in the shadows.

Naruto almost froze when all of this went through his head, eyes staring into the shadows. There, standing just barely in the light, was a figure. The figure looked human, though he couldn't tell as they were wrapped in a thick back cloak, and the only thing he could see on their face was a porcelain mask of some sort of animal. Before he could call or question them, the stepped back, slipping into the shadows.

He didn't hesitate to follow, the Force calling from where the person had disappeared. Something was down there, in the darkness of the inner caverns, where the only true light was that of the crystals all around him.

The Force was his guide as he traveled; though on occasion he had help from the flittering movements in the shadow that drew him further and deeper into the temple's cavern. Deeper and deeper he went, the crystals slowly but surely becoming less plentiful, as the areas where Kathracite crystals were scarce began making themselves known. The soft whispers of the Force were all around him, likely in many crystals he passed, but all told him the same thing.

Deeper.

So, deeper he went, hand brushing against the wall on occasion as a mural drawn by Jedi of ancient times would be illuminated by the crystals and draw his attention. Each was only for a moment though. Every time he'd pause, the figure would reappear and stare at him, creating an uneasiness until he began following once more.

It felt like forever before he finally reached the part where all the crystals went silent but one. This crystal, this one crystal, was almost impossible to see. In fact, it took Naruto several minutes of blindly fumbling for it before he found it embedded into the wall. It was small, frail looking speck in the wall, not even the size of the nail on his little finger and that he couldn't tell its color due to lacking any sort of glow in the dark. Its light was dim, and for a moment Naruto wondered if it he should remove it before it finished growing. Perhaps he was mistaken, and this was meant to remain here and grow further?

Feeling the Force continue to insist that _this_ was what he sought out, he slowly nodded to himself. "…okay then little guy. Time to go on an adventure."

Gripping the crystal, he attempted to pull it from the rock. Finding it resistant to his touch, he frowned and chipped away at the rock around it with his fingers, only to find it too strong. Stepping back, he reached out his hand and drew on the Force, closing his eyes as he focused on the crystal. Barely a second went by before a voice cut into his concentration.

"What's the matter, having a little bit of trouble?"

Naruto froze, his entire body ridged as he heard that voice. That impossible voice, that promised nothing but fun and yet held an edge of trouble ever present in it. Slowly turning around, he almost physically recoiled as he looked at who it was. Her face had changed some, and she'd grown more than when he'd last seen her, but it was still clearly her. "Aurra?"

"Here, let me help." She said reaching out her hand. With a look of concentration, the rocks around the crystal began cracking. Within seconds, it raced from the wall into her hand. With a smirk of triumph, she stepped forward and took his right hand. "See? Easy as shooting bantha with a turret."

"I…" Naruto blinked rapidly, almost missing on the cool feeling in his hand as she wrapped his fingers around the crystal. "How are you here?"

"Hm?" She shook her head, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "You're talking funny Naruto. But then, you always were a bit of a weird weren't you little man?"

"I guess." Naruto muttered. Realizing that she was getting him to forget his question, he shook his head. "No, wait, hold on! You can't be here…can you?"

"…" Aurra sighed, stepping back slowly. "No…I suppose I can't."

"But…you are, aren't you?" Naruto asked, a bit of hope in his chest.

"No, she isn't."

This voice was different, deeper, darker, and as hot as molten metal. Before she could move, before Naruto could think, a red lightsaber activated with a cold _snap-hiss_ and with a fluid strike through her chest, Aurra's presence was extinguished from before him.

"No!" Naruto saw red; the red of the lightsaber, and the red creeping around his vision intertwining as he roared. The very walls around him seemed to shake, and he could feel a tremor building in his stomach.

"Hard to kill what wasn't there, isn't it?"

Naruto focused on the person, the one who he'd followed, and scowled. It was _them_. They…whatever they were, had come out of nowhere and _killed_ Aurra. Had he not spoken, Naruto would have flung himself at the shadow and attacked, no lightsaber notwithstanding. Yet upon stopping, and looking to the floor, he found that they were right; there was no body of Aurra Sing, only a curious lightsaber that was left in her place.

"…what is this place?" Naruto asked slowly, beginning to realize that something was incredibly wrong with where he was at.

"You're in a place where the power of the Force _flows_ through the very rocks, resonates around the crystals around you, and calls both ghosts and phantoms alike to dance within its halls." The shadow waved its black gloved hands, as though conducting an invisible orchestra to an unknown beat. While its face was obscured, Naruto could feel its eyes on him, watching him, observing him. "Care to dance with the phantom that plagues your every nightmare? Or maybe you'd prefer to remain lost, on a path of darkness forever? I'm sure the Force would love to see how you'll change things that way."

"…what are you talking about out?"

"Well~" The shadow began, but paused, seeming unfocused. After a couple of seconds, it pointed to Naruto accusingly. "You have not earned such an answer. Come!"

Flicking its wrist, something slid down its sleeve into its hand before it whipped it forwards, flying straight at Naruto. Despite being caught flatfoot, his hand easily snatched it out of thin air with his right hand. Eyeing it suspiciously, he was surprised to see it was an electrum detailed lightsaber shoto, which was one that was allowed only to high-ranking members of the Order in honor of their strength and skill. Thumbing the activation switch, he flinched as the red beam appeared from it, illuminating the dark room with an ominous glow that was reflected in the shadows lightsaber.

Or rather, in their two lightsabers. While Naruto had been inspecting the one thrown at him, the shadow had drawn the lightsaber left in place of Aurra's body and ignited it as well; two flame-red blades held by its sides as it stared him down.

Naruto said nothing, moving his stance into an Ataru staring stance as he glared down the shadow form. Phantom or not, it had attacked Aurra. It had for all intents and purposes 'killed' her right in front of him. Pushing everything he'd had on his mind out, he focused on one simple, focused mission.

"I'm going to make you regret that."

With a shout, they rushed each other.

x-=-x

_Dunes of Tatooine_

"Aurra! Focus on your target."

Aurra Sing was silent, eyes unfocused as she stared down the barrel of her slugthrower. Adjusting to the new bio-computer that was allowing her to sense the direction of the wind better so as to make the calculations for the shot was difficult, but the Anzat was not a patient man, and the demands on her were harsh. Still, she refocused, and pulled the trigger.

The shot hit, if only just off center. She knew it was an improvement, but then she herself would likely be out later trying to make certain that she knew the calculations for a perfect shot to be able to do so perfectly every time.

"Good enough for today. Pack up, clean up, and move back to camp."

Aurra nodded, picking herself up and began following the given instructions. Every now and then, she glanced to the Anzat when they weren't looking and scowled at them silently.

The pirates who'd caught her had done a number on her, and it showed in the bags that now lay under her eyes. They'd told her of how she'd been abandoned, how her master had betrayed her, her _Order_ had betrayed her and left her to rot in the deepest parts of space where the only thing that mattered was the money you could put in front of a person or the gun at your hip.

And she believed them. During her training she'd developed no love for Kuro, and the training made things no better between them. She was all for rigorous, intensive training, but while on Ord Namurt the training had become near cruel and unusual, and by the time she had been captured it had almost been welcome. The idea that the other Jedi didn't care just seemed natural, commonplace, and the hatred passed onto them.

"_Thanks Aurra, I was getting _so_ bored in there!"_

All of them, except one.

He still plagued her with his happy smile, his determination, and his drive. She could sometimes swear she heard his laugh on the wind, when she was absolutely quiet and calm. Just before she'd pulled the trigger though, she felt something new, something foreign and frightening. She'd felt his anger.

Naruto was never angry, not when she'd seen him. He was smiling, pouting, whining or sleeping, but never once had he been angry while he'd been with her. His 'aggression' against droids wasn't anger in her eyes, and it certainly had never felt like…this.

Closing her eyes, she struggled to reach out through the Force to see if she could feel the emotions again. It had been like ice, a flash freeze of cold that had washed over her and made her pause in training. It had stood unmovable, yet at the same time felt like a crushing and unstoppable force of nature that threatened to bury anything before it.

Was this the feeling of Naruto angry? If so, what had caused this anger? And why had she felt it?

Feeling the Anzat behind her before she turned, she looked at them with a flat stare as they scowled at her. "I thought I told you to _move_."

"Of course, don't worry." Aurra said, hands absentmindedly returning to cleaning the site so that it left little to no trace of their presence there. At the moment she was allowed to clean her slugthrower before moving to camp, but had been told to limit this as it was a bad habit. Not wanting to leave this spot just yet, she quickly began giving it a quick work over, letting herself fall into a moving meditation similar to alchaka.

The results were almost instantaneous. She could feel collisions in the air, almost as though they were right in front of her. The cold of ice, a world buried in it, brushed against her skin despite the heat of the world around her. A shout of rage, and the laughter of something darker than the Hutt who'd sent her here, rang in her ears. The hiss of lightsabers colliding in front of her, and the feeling of pressure between the two combatants was real, and powerful; so much so she almost fell back for a second when she swore that Naruto had stepped her way.

Closing her eyes she violently shoved the thoughts away. She couldn't allow these to plague her. She was no longer the person she was when she was with him, and she couldn't allow him to remain in her thoughts like this. If she did, one day she'd face him, and on that day these thoughts and emotions could break her.

She was no longer Aurra Sing, padawan and future Jedi in the Jedi Order. Now she was Aurra Sing, bounty hunter and soon to be Jedi killer; the one who's hatred and pain would scar the galaxy.

* * *

><p>AN: When I was writing my notes for this story, there were a few things that I <em>knew<em> I wanted in this story. One was how Naruto was found, the second was his master. The third, was the upcoming fight scene in the bowels of Illum. It was initially inspired by Anakin's trip to Illum, where he dueled the spirit of Darth Maul - a hallucination in the Force. I almost made this chapter longer just for the fight, but with this I can also show two things with Aurra.

Also, just for anyone curious, everything I said about the four lightsabers that you don't know or understand can be found on Wookiepedia, and may help give you a better idea on how something looks in case you don't already know.

So, until we get down to fight in the frozen underbelly of the Jedi caverns on Illum, I'll see you all next time on **From Darkness**.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The two combatants raced forward, two sabers in one's hands, one in the other. The trio of red light struck with a violent hue arcing brightly against the cavern walls, painting them with the aggression each of the combatants had.<p>

The shadow stomped forwards, his movements an endless droid-like march with each strike coordinated and following the wild form of Shii-cho. While an uncommon style to use Jar'Kai with, it was minimizing the normal openings by shifting the stances so that each strike was followed mercilessly by the next with the intent of driving his opponent into a corner.

Naruto on the other hand was utilizing Niman with heavy Ataru stances to keep himself from getting cornered. Flipping into the air, he kept the saber against him as he whirled like a buzz saw over the shadow. He could feel the resistance as his strikes were blocked, but his mind was single focused and he wouldn't back down. Landing deftly, he let his lightsaber slip into a reverse grip and thrust his arm forward to shove the shadow back.

The shadow skid backwards, barely keeping its footing before marching forwards once more. Naruto wouldn't allow him to finish getting his feet back under him though, and was already engaging him in close combat, each strike intended to knock the shadows lightsaber out of the way so he could disarm his opponent.

He quickly realized though that as soon as the shadow got his feet under him, he was a threat. Despite using Shii-cho, the Jar'Kai combination with it made it a viable threat, and with each strike Naruto found the pressure of his attacks beginning to move him back.

Gritting his teeth, his eyes analyzed the situation as quickly as he could. The Force wasn't being of much help as it was only alerting him to attacks shortly before he could react to block them. Naruto was not a defensive Soresu user, and the pressure was something he'd only faced a few times before. It was something he didn't like about the blindfolded duels; they helped one fight with the Force as their guide, but they didn't help when the opponent put on pressure because they could see. Still, there were ways around this.

Stopping in place, Naruto gathered the Force and leapt straight up. Ready for Naruto to leap over again, the shadow stepped back, waiting for the attack. Naruto could almost feel the confusion from the shadow as instead Naruto just dropped straight down where he'd been and bolted forwards, blade a whirl of red.

The shadow took each hit, making sure that he could block as quickly as he could but losing ground a _lot _quicker than he'd gained it a second ago. With all of the openings, there was soon one that he needed to take. Knocking the shadows right handed lightsaber upwards, he stepped back to avoid his left saber as it wildly lashed out. Stepping in, he brought his lightsaber down on the shadow's left arm, slamming into it as hard as he could.

Only to have it stopped.

Naruto stared at the arm, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. He was swinging full force with a lightsaber, a weapon claimed to be capable of cutting through near anything, and he'd been stopped. Leaping back, Naruto glared at them with a critical eye, drawing on the Force to show him what he'd missed. "What the hell…what the hell are you doing with the Force?"

"Hm?" The shadow muttered softly as it shook out its hand. "Oh, you mean Force Weapon? Well, obviously I'm surprising you, but that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. After all, for all your studying you're still so very ignorant about the Force, the universe, and…the Jedi."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked through grit teeth. This being thought it knew him? Well, it _was_ a phantom of the Force, but acting in such a way still had the same results. "Who do you think you are?"

"With how you're fighting? I guess we'll never find out." The shadow shrugged, a feeling of smugness rolling off of it.

Before it could say anything else, Naruto's hand was raised. Moving his hand with a violent yank backwards, a chunk of the wall broke off and was launched at high speed at the shadow. With a turning flourish and a slight push of the Force, the rock was cut in half, barely missing as it turned sideways to avoid the pieces. Glancing to Naruto, it leaned backwards and avoided a strike aimed at its face.

Naruto scowled as he dove into a roll, holding his lightsaber in a reverse grip. "Well then, I'll just break your mask and _make_ you tell me who you are!"

Rushing forward, he slammed his lightsaber into the pair with a bit more force than he could otherwise. Reverse grip was good for more powerful strikes, but it lacked coordination that a regular held grip didn't need to sacrifice. Luckily for Naruto, his shoto let him flip between them easier, and he didn't plan on letting the shadow get the upper hand again.

Turning on his heel, he brought the saber back and gripped the bottom of the hilt tightly in his other hand. Using it to help him get a bit more precision with the next strikes, he attempted to spear the lightsaber through his guard. He got three good shots it before the shadow leapt back, trying to get some distance, likely so it could change tactics. Naruto had figured that it would move, and so as soon as it was airborne he spun forwards and thrust his hand out. With a strong Force Push, he sent them flying into the wall.

As soon as it had stood up once more, it was forced to block another strike, this time aimed at its chest. Pushing it out of the way, it didn't have any way to block as Naruto's knee crashed into its face, a soft crack from the mask indicating that something was beginning to break in the porcelain, and the figure would soon be required to reveal itself.

Growling softly, the shadow whipped around and shifted to an Ataru stance, spinning like a top as he attempted to cut Naruto down with a more airborne assault. Naruto hopped back, blocking the strikes as best as he could as he tried to look for another opening. With an almost deadpan expression, he found one.

Kneeling low, he could hear the hum of the lightsabers as they raced over his head. Feeling the confusion of the shadow at his change in tactics, he clenched his fist tightly and brought it back. Channeling every bit of frustration at his situation, he shot up and slammed his fist into the center of the mask, hearing it crack under the Force powered punch. Stepping back, the shadow seemed to be almost staring at Naruto with a startled body expression.

"I'm not done!" Naruto shouted. While his fist was already at full extension, he wasn't planning on using his fist to hit him again. Focusing the Force across the bridge of his knuckles, he launched a 'punch' at the shadow, knocking his head backwards and getting a satisfying shattering from the mask. The bottom half of it flew slid down its face, landing in front of them as they hunched over. Deactivating one of its lightsabers, it covered their mouth as its fingers curled tightly around the edges of the mask.

If Naruto was expecting it to surrender, to give up or otherwise because its mask had broken, that's not what he got. What he got was some of the most bone chilling laughter he'd ever heard. What was worse, was that it sounded familiar. Very, _very _familiar, if much darker and more manic.

"So…" The shadow said, gripping the rest of the mask tightly. "You really want to know who I am?"

With a hark jerk of his wrist, the mask went flying at Naruto. A sidestep was all that was needed to dodge, but in doing so his saber was brought up almost a second to late as he was forced to once more engage in a saberlock with them. The red, ominous glow lit up his face under his hood; dirty platinum blonde hair fell across his face, glowing red eyes stared back hauntingly into his own blue, and three thick whisker-like marks adorned each of his cheeks.

"Hello me." Dark Naruto said, pupils of his eyes becoming slits for half a second before Naruto was sent screaming into the wall from a bolt of lightning to his chest. "Was it worth it?"

Naruto felt the dark side coursing across his chest, taking his breath away for a second. While the lightning was far from overwhelming, it had startled him and was quite painful. Still, he had to move before the next attack came. Rolling to the side, he flinched as he felt one of the lightsabers embed itself into the stones where he'd been laying.

"What's the matter, afraid to die?" Dark Naruto rolled his head back and laugh. "Come on, it won't be so bad! I'll just take what's mine, and we'll be on our way. After all, the Jedi clearly have _no_ idea how to help you."

Naruto felt his anger spike, hand gripping his lightsaber tightly. "You don't know what you're talking about…"

Dark Naruto rolled his eyes mockingly. "Do I? Let's go over everything shall we? You're home world is somewhere you can't get to, your friends are going to be all over the galaxy, you aren't supposed to make meaningful bonds or attachments, and you want out. How does that sound?"

There was a second of silence, and Dark Naruto threw his head back in laughter. "Oh, wow I should've just shown who I was at the start! If I'd known you'd cave this easily I'd have –" He paused, ducking under Naruto's thrown lightsaber. "Hey, I was talking!"

Naruto had enough of that talking though, and wasn't going to let him try to use Dun Moch – the art of taunting in conjunction with lightsaber combat – on him. If he lost concentration, if he forgot what he'd set out to do, then Dark Naruto would win. "Shut up then! I said I'd make you pay, and I will!"

Slamming into the dark variant of himself, he grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. While a very unconventional move, Naruto had never been one to use just the conventional fighting styles to win. In truth, the reason his friends hate sparing with him was because at certain points he'd do things much like what he'd just done with his lightsaber and get in close for a few melee hits before backing off. And, with his phantom on the ground he was able to hop backwards and draw the lightsaber back to his left hand.

Dark Naruto stared at the ceiling, shaking his head with a sigh. "They'll never accept what you want." Jumping to his feet, he grinned as he reactivated his second lightsaber and began walking towards Naruto. "If they learn about what you're thinking…well, I can't imagine you'll be in the order for long…"

Naruto flinched at that, gripping the lightsaber tightly. He could feel his rage building quickly, eyes once more seeing red as he tried to focus. Dun Moch was likely going to be the end of him someday, perhaps even here. He took a deep breath, all to ready to bellow out his rebuke.

Before he was able to utter a sound, he felt something cool against the palm of his left hand. It traveled up his arm, and across his chest in a soothing manner. The once heated breath left as a chilled sigh, and Naruto slowly took another, then one more. When he opened his eyes again, he saw disbelief, and shock in the phantom's gaze.

"Maybe. But as long as I'm here, I'm going to be the greatest Jedi ever." Naruto's stance shifted, eyes focused forwards as he assumed a Niman stance.

Dark Naruto scowled, throwing his arms out as he raged. "Oh come _on_ Naruto! Where's the rage? Where's the frustration? You know they'll never accept you, so just give in already!"

"…I don't want to." Naruto said, blinking at how…simple that felt. What had happened to it all? Staring down at his hand, he frowned as he tried to make sense of it all.

"…you. Don't. _Want to?_"

His voice was like grinding gears, screeching to a halt as the dark side all but exploded from him. Dark Naruto threw back his head, screaming at the top of his lungs as loud as he could. Watching him, Naruto swore he could see the vibrations of the sound waves in the air as it shook the walls around him, and shook him to his very core. Were it not for the Force, Naruto likely would've been knocked over or knocked out by the intensity of it. How was there a technique like this that could do such a thing?

Gathering his feet underneath him, he leapt to the side, dodging several stalactites as they feel from the ceiling, one or two almost impaling him as they crashed besides him. Reaching out to one of them as it feel right in front of him, he threw his hands forwards and launched it at the phantom, having had enough of it screaming and yelling at the top of its lungs.

Much like how it had done so earlier with the other rock Naruto had thrown at him, he stepped forwards and cut through the rock, splitting it in half. This time though, he threw his arms back to 'catch' the pieces and return them back to Naruto. His red eyes burnt under the shadows of his cloak, and what he could see of his face almost seemed like it was beginning to peel back to reveal a vortex of the dark side beneath his skin.

Diving between them, Naruto flinched as he was forced to once more dodge as Dark Naruto rushed forwards and began carving a path with the two lightsabers spinning before him. With the new debris field, Naruto was able to keep some distance between them by launching bits and pieces of the rocks at him, trying to throw him off guard. Sadly, much like how he knew that throwing objects would do little more than annoy him, Dark Naruto either dodged or simply cut through whatever was thrown his way as he continued to move towards Naruto.

Naruto grit his teeth, staring into his eyes. Those eyes, how did they burn with such hate? What had happened to this phantom to make it so…sad?

"Don't you pity me!" Dark Naruto roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A shock wave of dark side energy rippled out, throwing up dust and stones that caused nicks and minor bumps as it washed over him. "I will not be the outcast! I am more than _anyone_ can possibly imagine!"

"_Is that how I sound?"_ Naruto wondered, remembering all of his proclamations about becoming the greatest; about becoming a Jedi as strong as Yoda or Windu, and doing so faster than any other Jedi ever had before. _"Am I really so –"_

"Don't even _think_ it." Dark Naruto hissed, eyes flaring slightly as he threw his lightsaber at Naruto. Naruto leapt to the side, bringing his own lightsaber into a mid-guard position as he rolled to his feet. "You think you know yourself? You've _forgotten_ how much power you could have if you just took ahold of the dark side. Remember Aurra? You could fix all of this in seconds with this power! Anyone, any friend, anywhere, you could help them. Be there _before_ they even needed the help. The Force wouldn't just flow through you, you'd _direct_ its flow where _you_ want it. Where you _need_ it. And the best part is none of the masters have a clue that you have this at your disposal!"

Naruto blinked at that, taking all of that in. That did sound like a lot of power. And that _did_ sound like everything he ever wanted to be able to do. It was possibly the greatest regret of any Jedi; they were connected to a power that was universal, but when it came to saving people they couldn't reach out across the galaxy as their abilities only extended so far. To be able to bend the Force, to make it do as he pleased, to go where he wanted to go... "It sounds too good to be true."

"Of course it does, no one _wants _to believe that something labeled 'dark side' could possibly have the answers to the problems all Jedi want to solve." Dark Naruto rolled his eyes. "Honestly, for all your learning you'd have thought you'd remember just how many Jedi it often took to take out _one_ Sith, or _one_ Dark Jedi. The power is there, it is real, and it can do many things that you can't do otherwise. It can save people, stop people from dying by preventing the event altogether. It's the power of the Force, in your hands to control as you see fit. The Force is the most versatile weapon or tool in all of existence!"

One could hear the faint drops of water coming off of the stalactites as Naruto listened to the phantom. He could see the faces of all the people of Naboo, their bright smiles, their warmth and splendor. He could feel the people of Coruscant, the Jedi he'd trained with, worked with, ate with, and dreamed with. And, for a brief second, he swore he could sense his world, just a distant memory to him, but with people capable of performing incredible things, with tales of wonder and incredible prowess in all that they did. But then, he saw Aurra's face.

His expression grew dark, but there was something more than anger there. This was not his temper rising to unleash itself like a rampaging inferno; this was ice, an avalanche that was now started and ready to sweep over the dark one before him.

"And what kind of prices are paid for this power? For using the Force, a power meant to help people, as a weapon? Who will I betray because I'm afraid of begin caught? How many will suffer because I try to be _everywhere _when I am just one man?" Naruto shook his head, shifting his foot forward from a defensive stance to an offensive.

Dark Naruto seemed almost desperate, seeing Naruto brush off his words like he'd not even bothered paying attention making him further frustrated. "Come on Naruto, don't be a fool! You're throwing away the one chance you have at being able to save _everyone_. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"Yeah, I do, but not with that price. One day I _will_ find a way to do it, but it will be _my_ way; my own path." Naruto glared at him, lips curling as he drew the Force around him. "I am a Jedi. I follow the _flow_ of the Force. People will be hurt, and I already know I won't be able to stop it every single time. But!" Small stones rose slightly as Naruto said this, slowly orbiting him as he spoke. "No one – not pirates, not bandits, not Dark Jedi or Sith – will lay a _finger_ on one of my friends without justice being served. And when I _am_ there when it happens, then you'd best hope you aren't my enemy, because I will fight and defend my friends till I die. Screw the attachment rule, because even if I have to fight each and every Jedi to do it, I'll find a way to make it work! Believe it!"

Throwing out his hands, the air began to shimmer next to him. Within a few seconds, there were two after images of himself standing in the same pose, similar expressions as all three of them glared at Dark Naruto with the same expression.

Dark Naruto looked between all three of them, franticly trying to make sense of it all. It only took a second, but as soon as he did he scowled. "Doppelgangers…they're battle ready?"

"Yep. You said that there always needed to be several people to beat a Dark Jedi or Sith. Well, look what I can do." Naruto's lips curled in a smirk. "And now we're going to make you pay, just like I promised."

All three of them blitzed forwards, sabers in hand and determination in their eyes. Dark Naruto shifted to a more defensive Soresu stance, trying to figure out how to defend himself.

The three individual lightsabers swung around Dark Naruto with coordination that was practiced, coordinated, and dangerous. Each of them danced with the others, not bumping into each other, and marching forwards in a mix of Niman and Shii-cho. With this strategy, they could forcibly push any adversary into a corner through simply outnumbering them.

Within a few swings, Dark Naruto began to realize something was off. When he moved to block the doppelgangers lightsabers, they wouldn't always hold up. Naruto hadn't finished mastering a method of the doppelgangers using the lightsabers to the same effectiveness as he could as he held the real lightsaber. This mean that at least half of the time, theirs were mere illusions. Trying to focus on Naruto, he smirked as he found the one saber that would consistently hold up to his attacks and began advancing on him.

The second he began advancing though, the doppelgangers made their presence known as while their lightsabers were illusions, their fists still carried the Force in them and certainly felt like real hits. As such, he took several hits due to his ignorance in ignoring the doppelgangers and was forced to leap back. Before he'd even gotten a chance to think, they were on him once more.

"Enough!" He shouted, throwing both hands to the side with Force Lightning arcing off his hands into the clones. Their eyes went wide as they were thrown up into the air, slowly disappearing into the Force.

Naruto stumbled, eyes wide and teeth clenched as his clones were destroyed. Despite them being battle ready, he still felt every little bit of their final moments of pain. It had given him an opening though, and with the lightsaber flipped like a javelin, he threw it as hard as he could into Dark Naruto's chest.

The phantom didn't have a second to blink before it ran him through. His lips moved slowly as he stumbled back, looking down to the weapon that had impaled him. Not done yet, Naruto stomped his foot down and thrust his right hand forwards, unleashing as powerful a Force Push as he could muster. Without any forewarning, Dark Naruto was picked up and launched into the wall and nailed to it with the lightsaber embedding itself due to the push.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto stared at the phantom silently as he watched what happened next. There was no blood, as the phantom was always a hallucination of the Force, but with its defeat, its body began to dissipate, the skin from before peeling back to reveal a dark monstrosity beneath that growled at him in an animalistic manner. Slowly, that darkness too faded, leaving nothing against the wall. Before he could move, he flinched as he felt the phantoms presence right behind him, whispering in his ear.

"_This won't be the last time Naruto…in fact, it's just the beginning."_

x-=-x

Slowly, Naruto's eyes opened. With a pained groan, he slowly shook his head, wincing as he tried to refocus on the world around him.

He was still in the same place where he'd found the crystal. The wall in front of him had a hole in it, the crystal buried within it longer than it seemed having been growing inside the rock rather than on its outside like most of the other stones. Looking down, he breathed out slowly at what he saw, as well as what he felt.

In his lap lay his lightsaber. What stood out about it now, was that from his lightsaber he could feel it resonating with a slow, deep hum of the Force. He'd been preoccupied by the Force's presence in the room creating the illusions before, so he hadn't realized what he'd actually found; in thinking about it, with the hallucinations one might find in this room he doubted anyone would be able to sense this under normal circumstances.

His mind was quickly piecing together the clues he'd missed before, being in the middle of battle, and trying to focus on getting out of whatever Force phenomena he'd walked into. The key points; the cool feeling, and his suddenly quelled anger as he'd been about to explode at the phantom. Both of these traits were something he'd read about in passing, and the name had stood out because at the time he'd thought it'd be cool to have one. He hadn't actually expected to _find_ one, which meant that what he held was all the more special to him now.

"A pontite crystal…no way." Naruto whispered with a respectful tone in his voice. Closing his eyes, he felt the presence of this tool – no, this friend – in the Force reaching out to him.

Slowly standing up, he shivered at the cold still around him. There were few marks to the area around him, but that same whisper of the Force remained around him. Lingering, taunting him silently.

"Just the beginning…" Naruto muttered, remembering the last words said to him before smirking as he gripped his lightsaber tightly. "Yeah well, I won round one, and I won't lose any others. I have to many people depending on me, and many more who don't know they need me yet who I can't let down."

Turning on his heel, he began to make his way back to the main area. It was surprising to him when he realized that he'd actually gone quite a bit further into the caverns than he thought. Were it not for the Force to guide him, he would likely become lost down in the caverns and freeze. As it were, he soon began to hear the mutterings of his friends from in front of him.

Outside the light he paused, staring at them with a worried look. They were all clearly done with their lightsabers, and were simply sitting around talking. How long had he been down there? Shaking his head, he took a step out of darkness and towards his friends.

"Uh, hey guys, I'm back." He said, waving to them as he approached.

"Naruto!" Jax shouted, the first to stand and walk over to him. Picking Naruto up, he enveloped the shorter boy in a very tight hug. "We thought you'd gotten lost in the caverns! We were just talking about heading in to see if we could find you and drag you out."

"No, _you_ thought he'd gotten lost in the caverns." Yasuo corrected, rolling his eyes at his friends antics. "We were just waiting for you to get back. You sure took a long time to tune your crystal…" Staring at Naruto, he appraised him with a raised brow. "You feeling okay?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, flexing his fingers numbly. "Well…come to think of it, I have _no_ idea how long I was down there so…I think so? Mabye?"

"Well, you're back, and that's what matters." Jax said, slapping Naruto on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, Sheeka won the crystal tuning, and got hers all ready and tuned before Yasuo and I could get halfway through ours."

"It wasn't a wace Jax." Sheeka said, looking just slightly embarrassed by Jax's proclamation.

"But if it _was_, you'd have won." Jax said poignantly.

"…he does have a point." Naruto said after a couple seconds.

"Traitow!" Sheeka shouted, pointing at Naruto who raised his hands sheepishly.

"Ha! You owe me a jawa juice." Jax said proudly, throwing his hands in the air.

Naruto deadpanned at that, unable to believe that his friends had bet on him like that. "…you know what I'm not going to ask." Running a hand through his hair, he turned towards the entrance. "Let's go guys, I bet the masters –"

"Wait, Naruto." Naruto paused, turning to see all three of them were holding their lightsabers in front of themselves. "Didn't you want to join us?"

"…wait what?" Naruto stared at them, suddenly very confused.

Yasuo nodded his head towards them. "We all said we'd become the greatest, most awesome Jedi when we were kids, remember? Well, we're just going to do it again, but this time as actual padawans, and not just silly younglings."

The idea sounded silly, childish, and unorthodox. As such, Naruto wanted full part in it as he stepped up and held his own lightsaber before him. "Alright, what will we be doing then?"

"Um…well this is kind of like a Knighting Circle…or so I've been told. Well…" Yasuo muttered softly before nodding to himself. Activating his green lightsaber, he stared into it with a firm look. "Okay, let's do it like this then. I am Yasuo, padawan of Sifo-Dyas, and I will become the greatest Jedi Counselor I can be. I'll learn about every facet of the Jedi code, the order, and uncover that which the Sith sought to hide."

Catching on to what he was doing, Jax activated his blue lightsaber next. "I'm Jax, padawan of Kit Fisto, and I'm going to be the greatest Jedi Guardian ever! If there's ever a need for someone to break up a fight, or defend anyone or thing, I'll be the guy at the top of everyone's list to take care of it."

Sheeka was next, her azure blade thrumming softly as she held it before her like the first part of the Makashi Salute. "I'm Sheeka, padawan of Feemor, and…I don't know where I'll end up, but I will become a great Jedi Master. Powerful, wise, and a role model to all the Jedi who'll come after me."

Naruto looked between them all and thumbed his activation switch. A small smile curled at his lips as he stared into his bright orange lightsaber. "I am Naruto Uzumaki, padawan to An'ya Kuro the Dark Woman. I walk my own path, and to protect the galaxy and my friends, I'll become one of the legendary Jedi who'll never be forgotten."

All of them looked to one another slowly before deactivating their lightsabers and clipped them to their belts. Stepping forwards, they all gripped each other's shoulders and grinned.

"May the Force be with us."

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, that was a lot of fun, and let me show some of Naruto's future skills. Obviously he can't use them all yet, or as efficiently as he will later, but it's a much, <em>much<em> bigger step that I've been waiting for.

To those who've asked, _yes_ Naruto will be going to his home world before Episode I would officially start. When that happens all the questions about chakra and whatnot will be revealed, but not until then.

Also, can I ask what is so special about Darth Nox? He's been mentioned multiple times, and while I _am_ going to use him (at least part of him) in A New Era, and I'm not sure how I'd work him into this story yet (I could, but I still don't know much about him). So any information about why he's so big at the moment would be appreciated. Thank you.

Welp, next chapter means I get to move more pieces into alignment. So I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	20. Chapter 20

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

Thank you everyone who's brought up Darth Nox and explained a few things to me. I didn't realize he's part of the Old Republic expansion. That explains a _lot_ more, and he is certainly interesting. I could see him being used in a couple of ways, but for the most part I've gotten a lot of things planned leading up to Episode I, and Darth Nox isn't part of them. That being said, _after_ Episode I… I might be able to work something out. We'll see.

In the meantime, onto the chapter!

* * *

><p>"Thank you very much King Veruna. I always enjoy our time together."<p>

Veruna bowed slightly, giving his partner a smile. "Of course Magister. I look forward to our next discussion."

As the holoprojector faded away, Hugo Damask leaned back in his seat. His thin Munn form barely left much of an impression against the world around him. While he had on finely made robes and held himself as a man with status, his clear age and the transpirator didn't help him look any less febal. However to those who knew him in his entirety, they'd know that there was _far _more to him than simply his presence.

Walking into his laboratory, Hugo Damask seemed to almost fade into the shadows, yellow eyes glowing as his fingers brushed against the mechanisms that he'd been using for the last few years to study midi-clorians. In this place, he was better known as Darth Plagueis.

Moving past all that was in his lab, he exited and approached the far window that overlooked Coruscant. His eyes moved slowly, instantly spotting the air speeder that belonged to his apprentice, before moving onto the night skyline.

"…you're home early, Sidious." Plagueis said, the edge of his voice not lost in the transpirator. Glancing to the young man, he looked at his shadowed form as he considered the reasons behind his appearance. "I presume you know that I spoke with King Veruna then?"

"Yes master." Sidious said, slowly walking up next to his master to look out on the city besides him. There was a small pause as he considered his next words; a trait that Plagueis admired, and that had helped him get to his position as senator of Naboo in the Republic. "I wanted more updates about this…anomaly. While I know Zealot isn't the most ruthless among us, I would have imagined that he'd have attempted to kill the boy."

"Hm." Plagueis was silent for a moment, but then he already knew what he was going to say. Unlike other Sith of the Rule of Two, that was _not_ how he and Sidious did things. Everything was spoken and told to each other; every plan and plot, so that they could manipulate the universe at their leisure to bring forth the rule of the Sith to create their Galactic Empire. This was no different. "Zealot is not like Maul. I did not create him as an assassin, rather he's meant to bring the Jedi one of their greatest weaknesses; doubt. Should a Jedi doubt himself, his will begins to fail, his mind falters and the dark side becomes more acceptable. It becomes more enticing, more powerful, and allows us the edge we need should we need those he meets later."

Sidious was silent for a moment, thinking about that. "And the boy, the one that is given much credit in helping the planet by Veruna. You believe that Zealot left a mark on him, to allow us to…draw him to our side, as it were?"

"Yes." Plagueis crossed his arms, thinking for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "We must act if we wish to maintain it though. Zealot remarked that the boy was stronger willed than Veruna might've realized. His loyalty is still to the Jedi and their _order_ as it were."

"Perhaps, their approach was to quick, master?"

"Hm? Explain."

"Well," Sidious slowly motioned to the Senate building, and then to all of Coruscant. "All of this is something we've been working towards for a few years now, and we will need to wait a few more if we are to truly have it within our grasp. Too quick, and we'll be found, to long and someone else will take it from us. The boy is young, so Veruna's transparent attempts to keep the boy on the planet failed. However, I…may have a way to help weaken his will."

Plagueis considered his apprentices words silently. The boy was barely eleven, and could turn out to be useful in the future. There was always reason to keep an attachment to the boy, Jedi or not, especially with the variety of ways they had to bring the Jedi to their knees. It was one of the reasons he was still in contact with Masters Dooku and Sifo-Dyas. It was sparring, short, and often didn't leave much to show what he was truly speaking of, but they knew him, and he left many ideas in their minds that the Jedi Council most certainly would not approve of.

As such, he slowly nodded to his apprentice. "Very well. When you have a chance, do so. In the meantime, I need to ensure that our projects are standing firm, and that the…confusing presence of the Trade Federation will bring the sympathy towards them we desire."

Sidious' smirk beneath his robes grew ever so slightly, recalling the events of what they'd set in motion. "Of course my master. It will be done."

The Muun nodded, before returning his attention to the city. Soon enough, he and his apprentice would finally be prepared to reveal themselves, and finally the Sith would have their revenge.

x-=-x

Naruto was a bit more social during the trip back, and his friends couldn't be happier. While he certainly wasn't running around like a crazed cooped up wampa, he was still popping up around the ship where he could talk to his friends and they could all discuss their plans for the future.

In fact, he seemed much better than he'd been before. Whatever had been plaguing him was still there, but while he avoided talking too much to the masters, it seemed he wasn't going to be pushed away from his friends anymore. He still seemed nervous and twitchy when they entered, but for the most part seemed to accept that he couldn't truly run from them while on the ship. That being said, he also made sure that his lightsaber remained on his person at all times; even going as far as to sleep with it in his vicinity as well.

Paranoia wasn't often considered a good trait for a Jedi, but then the masters had never encountered a padawan who seemed paranoid about _their_ presence. The three of them took it in stride, waiting to see how his master would handle it, only to find that as the trip progressed, rather than help him come to terms with whatever fears he might've had, she did nothing. Letting him stew in his emotions, flinching every time he entered a room, and waiting for him even now.

As they returned to the Temple, Naruto was still very hesitant to get off the ship, but did so with some reluctance. Looking around, seeing the masters and knights who lived in the Temple, he found his throat dry as he tried to swallow. Gripping his lightsaber, he felt the crystal's energy cool his skin, which slowly began to keep him calm. He'd be okay, he wasn't alone…not entirely at least.

Fiddling with a data card in his pocked, he suddenly straightened out and turned to Kuro. "Um…master?" Getting her attention, he hesitantly motioned into the temple. "Would it be alright if I go thank Master Tahl for the information they were able to provide us with on the Chommell sector?"

"I don't see why not." Kuro said turning away from him when she realized his mind was still elsewhere. "I will call for you when we're to prepare for our next mission."

"Uh, okay, I'll be…" Naruto backed up slowly, grinning nervously as he spoke. "I'll be waiting for that then."

Turning and running down out of the hanger, the masters all exchanged a look with one another. Each of them had their own concerns with Kuro's methods as a master, but all knew that it wasn't their place to say anything either. How a master trained their padawan, unless something extreme and threatened to bring their student to the dark side, was usually left to them to determine. While this had trace elements of leading Naruto down a dark path, his eyes still gleamed with a resolution that gave them hope in his future as a Jedi.

Hopefully, whatever was between them would be solved soon. Otherwise, they feared that the great schism between them they'd just witnessed would never be filled.

x-=-x

Bant was bored. Then again, she'd been training on and off for a while, and helping around the library. As the head librarian, Tahl took missions on occasion, but was most often found here, where she could help others on their way to their own missions. And while it wasn't needed for her to remain with her master, she did enjoy reading up on the different sectors and planets to learn about the galaxy and its secrets.

Sighing softly, she glanced to her master who seemed to be in a suddenly very good mood. She had been organizing some information to help master Qui-gon in his upcoming mission when she'd paused and simply began smiling. Confused, and slightly worried, Bant picked herself up. "Master?"

"He's back." Tahl said cryptically, shaking her head as she returned to her work.

"Um, who is?" Bant asked, feeling a chill run down her back.

"He is." Without saying more, Tahl simply raised a hand and pointed at Bant. No, not at Bant, behind her.

"You placed that one wrong."

Bant squeaked as she leapt in the air, stumbling to the side as an upside-down Naruto Uzumaki studied her work. "Naruto?!"

"You placed that one wrong too." Naruto pointed to her display of holocrons, shaking his head at the arrangement. "Seriously, how do you two get along without me?"

"Peacefully." Tahl remarked, getting an indignant shout from Naruto. Turning to face the young man, she walked over and ruffled his hair. "Welcome back Naruto."

"Thanks master Tahl." Naruto said, surprisingly not flinching at the touch. It was most likely because he trusted her, but then Naruto always felt he was a good judge of character. Master Tahl wouldn't be that sort of woman…at least, not that he could imagine. Flipping to his feet and landing in a crouch, he popped up over the edge of the display with a grin. "So, what'd I miss?"

Bant shook her head, walking over to give him a quick hug. "Welcome back Naruto." Moving over to the holonet, she pulled up a few documents she'd saved over the last few weeks to review later. "Well, there's not a huge amount going on at the moment, at least, not outside the Senate. Here, let me show you."

Pulling up one of the more recent discussions, she stepped to the side and showed Naruto the display. Curiously stepping forward, Naruto raised a brow at the displayed name that Bant had titled the recording as. "The Disussion of Alaris Prime? What's so big about Alaris Prime right now?"

"Well for one, it's in the Kashyyyk sector, orbiting the gas giant Alaris." Bant turned to Tahl, who'd already pulled up a map showing the sector with Alaris Prime highlighted. "Thank you master. See, Alaris Prime was discovered a while ago, but the Wookiees have been waiting on permission from the Senate to colonize it. Thing is, the Trade Federation has also wanted a piece of the planet since it's a good hyperspace stopping point that would expand their business opportunities."

"…okay. I knew about Alaris, but not about the rest of that." Naruto blinked, looking between the map and the recording. "So, why is the recording such a big deal? Doesn't this happen all the time?"

"It would, except there's a problem." Bant sighed softly, motioning to the recording. "It's…easier to have them explain it. To be honest, I really don't get it myself."

Naruto shrugged, stepping over to the display and began playing the recording back. He frowned when the image started with a Wookiee. Shryiiwook was one of the languages that Naruto hadn't invested as much time in learning, and as such he needed the subtitled translations to help him understand what was being said.

"Okay, so this Wookiee, Atti…Attichu…" Naruto's face contorted in concentration. "Attichitcuk. Man that's a hard name to pronounce. So he's upset because the Wookiees most recent survey team was attacked by…" Slowly turning to Bant, Naruto's look and twitching eye saying volumes about his thoughts. "_Battle droids?_ What the heck?"

"Keep listening Naruto, there's more to it." Bant said, her expression one of worry and confusion.

Sighing softly, Naruto pushed his disdain for droids out of his mind for now. Watching the screen, he was surprised when a Neimoidian representative rose up, getting the attention focused on him

"_My beloved members of the senate, I understand how this must sound, and as such have called for our illustrious Viceroy to address this issue."_ Waiting for the nod from the Supreme Chancellor, the Neimoidian stepped to the side and allowed another Neimoidian to take his place.

"_Members of the Senate."_ The Viceroy began, looking remarkably penitent for someone who'd for all intents and purposes been accused of attacking the Wookiees. _"It is true that we also desire a place on the planet Alaris Prime, we have always made sure that what we did was legal before moving to action. As it is, the pirate attack on our ships have been increasing over the last few years, and some of our cargo has been lost to them. One of our recent models we've been working with, the DRN-thirty-eight and its battalion, were stolen quite recently, and match the description of the battle droids that attacked your people."_

Turning to the Wookiees, he bowed his head and sighed. _"I am very sorry to hear that your people were attacked by our creations. Were we more able, we'd never have allowed for this to have ever happened."_ Returning his gaze to the Senators around him, he raised his arms with a pleading look. _"Members of the Senate, I implore you, send a delegation to the planet. Send two if you so desire. Send as many as you wish, and you will find the _truth_ of what I say! I implore you, reveal the mechanics of those truly behind this, and help clear the name of the Trade Federation!"_

Naruto stared at this Neimoidian with something akin to a gawking expression as he heard various shouts from the rest of the Senate at that time. Turning to Bant, he slowly pointed to the Neimoidian on the screen. "…they make _battle droids?_ And someone has been _stealing them?"_

Bant resisted the urge to smack Naruto upside his head at that. "Yes Naruto, that's been happening, but that isn't the big issue here!"

"No, it is!" Naruto demanded, jabbing his finger at the screen. "If they're getting stolen, then what's the point of the battle droids? I mean I hate droids, yeah, and battle droids just mean that they're _going_ to try and kill me. But if they're getting stolen then that means there's someone out there who can beat them, and then use them for their own devices." Throwing his hands into the air, he let out an exasperated sigh. "And _this _is why I hate droids! They can be so easily reprogrammed, and now they're working for someone who's giving the Neimoidian people a bad name because they're the ones who made them."

Bant seemed surprised by the outburst. She'd expected Naruto to be very much against the Neimoidian people because they created battle droids, but instead it sounded more like he felt pity for them. On the other hand, they were being accused of attacking another people, who they'd been trying to work something out with so that they could have a position on Alaris Prime for trade. While the interest might have been superficial, and intended merely to get a profit, she couldn't help but smile at the boy for his willingness to look for the best in people.

"You're very astute Naruto." Master Tahl said, smiling softly at the boy's observation. "However, regardless of who made them, there's also the fact that the Wookiees are quite upset with this attack, and if it isn't resolved then there's a possibility that the Wookiees and Neimoidians will be forced to go to war."

"What?! That's stupid!" Shaking his head, Naruto scowled. "They don't have to go to war because they got attacked by battle droids! They need to figure out who _sent_ the battle droids so they can stop them. I mean, yeah they make battle droids, but that doesn't mean that they're the ones who _sent _them."

"Careful Naruto, if you keep that up someone might think you should be sent to help." Tahl could sense someone standing nearby, but kept her mouth shut about their presence for the time being.

"Well, why not? I mean…" Naruto frowned, trying to think of some way he could contribute to helping the Neimoidians. "I don't know the Neimoidians, and I don't know the Wookiees, but I know that the Viceroy is right. Someone needs to find out what's going on. I mean, if they're so confident that they're telling us to send someone, then there's a good chance they aren't involved right?"

"Possibly." Tahl said with a shrug. "We won't know until someone goes and checks." Glancing towards the entrance of the library, her lips tugged upwards as she addressed the person who'd been listening in. "What do you think Qui-gon?"

"Eh?"

"I think that Naruto makes a fair point." Qui-gon said, stepping behind the startled boy and placed his hands on his shoulders. "He's got a good head on his shoulders, and an open mind to the mysteries before him."

Naruto's head bounced between the two, suddenly feeling like he'd been set up. Seeing no sign of foul play or malice, he slowly began to relax though he laughed nervously at what Qui-gon had said. "Hey Master Qui-gon, I…didn't hear you come in."

"It's alright Naruto," Qui-gon said, patting the boy's shoulder. "You were focused on trying to think of ways to help these people find a way to resolve this matter without going to the point of war. It's commendable, and truly the mindset all Jedi should have when it comes to matters such as these."

"…thank you master." Naruto said, smiling sheepishly at the comment.

Qui-gon nodded, glancing to Tahl who had picked up a data card and was playing with it in her hands as she watched the discussion between the two. Catching her silent meaning, he sighed and looked back to Naruto. "Tell you what Naruto. I'm actually scheduled to go with the Wookiees to Alaris Prime to help resolve this matter in a few days' time. In the meantime, I'm going to be meeting in the Senate with Viceroy Gunray to discuss what happened with these battle droids, so that we can get a better understanding of his position. If it's alright with your master, I would be glad to let you come along."

"What?!" Naruto turned to the master with wide eyes, almost looking positively giddy at the prospect. After listening to many holonet broadcasts, and watching the debates after the fact, the boy had grown quite curious as to seeing the inside of the Senate building with his own eyes. "You mean I'd get to go _in_ the Senate building?"

"Of course. Granted, they won't be in session as we haven't been granted permission to view them during that time, but we've arranged a room where we can speak with the Viceroy, and hear more about what is going on."

Naruto nodded, still very happy with this idea. As he thought of that though, he paused. "Wait, what about Obi-wan? Isn't he going to be there too?"

"He will likely be there as well. He just hasn't been told yet as I'm waiting on the council's decision." Qui-gon sighed, shaking his head. "Before these last meetings in the Senate, I was going to be sent alone to the world to help the Wookiees in setting up their settlement on Alaris Prime. With the revelation that there's someone out there with battle droids attacking the Wookiees and attempting to prevent their settlement of the world, the council will likely send another Jedi master with me. If they don't, then I'll have Obi-wan stay behind. I don't want him getting dragged into a place where fighting will be quite eminent."

Biting his lip, Naruto nodded. It wasn't all that uncommon for Jedi masters to occasionally leave the Temple without their padawan learners – in fact Tahl had done that several times before Naruto and Qui-gon had convinced her otherwise – as there were some scenarios where the presence of a padawan could cause their master distress due to needing to protect them during the mission. However, if they were sending more masters to assist, then Qui-gon could rest easier knowing that there was at least someone else who could assist him in keeping an eye on things.

"So," Qui-gon drew Naruto from his thoughts, reminding him of what had been asked. "I'm guessing that means you want to come along then?"

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed loudly before covering his mouth. Glancing around, he saw a Bant glance at him with amusement before he bowed to Qui-gon more respectfully. "Yes master, I'd be happy to join you."

"Well then, be ready tomorrow around noon. I'll meet you here to pick you up, should your master agree." Qui-gon said, getting a nod from Naruto. Stepping to the side, he let Naruto become an all too familiar bolt of blonde that shot out of the room with the intention of finding his master. Sighing softly, he glanced to Tahl. "Was that really necessary?"

"You were going to ask him the moment you saw him." Tahl said smugly, shaking her head. "And I bet Master Kuro is already voiced her opinion the moment she heard about it too. Am I wrong?"

"…she apparently heard about it from Master Sifo-Dyas, who was with her and Naruto's group that recently went to Illum." He softly sighed, shaking his head. "If anything, I'd imagine that Sifo-Dyas _recommended_ that she be sent to the planet to assist me after he heard about it. Whether she does or not remains to be seen, but seeing how she asked me to find Naruto, I'd imagine she's said yes."

"Hm." Tahl muttered softly, seeming lost in thought for a second. "Bant, can you take this chip to be duplicated? I don't want Naruto and his master to be left out of the information after all."

Bant blinked widely, before hopping up to take the data chip. "Yes master."

Watching her scurry off, Qui-gon glanced to Tahl with a light chuckle. "She does know you could've just made a copy here with another data card?"

"Sometimes she remembers, but she seems to be understanding that I want to talk to you alone." Tahl said with a soft smile. "It's been a while since we've been able to just talk after all."

"Yes…" Qui-gon said softly, taking a seat near her. His face was one of complete serenity as he smiled up at her. "Far too long indeed."

As Tahl sat down, she placed her hand upright on her knee and waited. It never took long for Qui-gon to take it in his own, gripping it gently yet with a surprisingly firm grip. These moments of peace and quiet were never long, but were greatly appreciated as they simply sat there. There were no superfluous words that needed to be said; they'd spoken of their feelings for one another three years ago now, and though they'd eventually decided to follow the Jedi Code, the bond between them remained as strong as ever.

With a soft sigh, he shook his head at how surreal the emotions he felt were. They did nothing but sit there and silently enjoy each other's presence. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet were he asked if he would trade these moments for anything, he'd resoundingly say no. Not for this. This was a connection to the person he felt most strongly for, and through that connection was another one to the Force that he couldn't explain or deny.

"…you'll be needed soon." Tahl's voice cut into his thoughts, getting a wry smile from him.

"I know." He said softly. Slowly, almost painfully, he stood up. "There will be another time for this, I promise."

"Of course there will." Tahl said softly, her blind eyes still seeming to have the precision to look directly into his own. With a smile that carried the emotions she'd locked away except in these times, she gripped his hand firmly. "Until then…may the Force be with you."

x-=-x

Naruto fidgeted as he knelt across from his master, waiting for her to respond to his presence. She'd been meditating when he'd come in, but had taken no note of him, and had merely continued her meditation. Kneeling across from her, he'd begun waiting for her to acknowledge him so that he could ask his question.

That had been several hours ago. Naruto had been meditating as well, keeping his senses open as he waited to feel her stirring while also letting himself sink into the Force for an added measure of comfort. It was surprising how well he'd managed to hold himself together during this time, as normally meditation like this threw him off and made him much like he was now; fidgety and anxious. Still, he was a kid nonetheless and he soon found his breaking point.

"Master?" Naruto said softly, finally getting her to respond. Staring at her, he took a deep breath. "Master I –"

"You wanted to know about traveling to Alaris Prime?" She asked slowly, getting Naruto to flinch at her interruption before blinking in confusion.

"Um…yeah I did. How did you –"

"I've already spoken with Master Sifo-Dyas about the incident." She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the Force. "He knows of my skills on planets such as that. While I am not a soldier, I would be one of the few he'd recommend to look into who is actually behind these attacks."

"…so, you're going?" Naruto asked, not feeling that she was very certain about whether she was going or not.

Her eyes opened once more, and there was a far off look in her eyes as she stared at him. While she said nothing, her mind was going over her options rather quickly. Much like on Naboo, she'd considered her options silently, and had determined that she would go to Alaris. The moment she'd debated taking Naruto, a second path opened to her; one with Naruto, and one without. While the final results had appeared remarkably similar, there was a feeling of trepidation that had built within her when she'd realized that her choice would likely change other outcomes.

She'd informed the council of this disturbance when she'd returned from Naboo. While she'd been clear that she didn't know the exact source that caused the split between them, she was now worried that it was Naruto causing it.

That being said, she also felt that both decisions would lead Naruto to a dark path, one which she wouldn't be able to save him from, or guide him through. If she chose wrong, she'd lose another student. If he chose wrong, she'd take it upon herself to take care of things herself. Either way, the Force simply told her to trust in him; something that she felt was quite unorthodox considering her trust for _people _over the Force was quite low. As such, after all this time meditating, she'd finally come to a conclusion.

With a soft sigh, she slowly nodded. "I've decided I will go to the planet, and assist Master Qui-gon and his apprentice on their mission."

Naruto nodded, biting his lip as he shifted in place. "Oh, I see. And um, am I to prepare to go as well?"

"That remains to be seen." She said slowly, laying the decision before him. "I have felt that this is a choice you must make, and one that I shall not have part in. There will be dangers on the planet, many of which I will not be able to save you from. However, should you decide to stay here, I will not hold that against you. There are things in this universe that are quite troubling, and I fear that the dark side lingers around that world at this very moment."

"You mean like with Zealot?" Naruto asked, his hands slowly clenching into firsts.

"…yes, but not precisely like him. It's less refined, more wild, and as such more dangerous." Closing her eyes, she frowned as she shook her head. "The dark side clouds the future, giving me no certainty in this venture."

Naruto slowly nodded, eyes darting in front of himself as he made his choice. "If the dark side is there, then that's where I'll be. I won't let them hurt people like they did on Naboo, and if I stay here then I wouldn't be able to help."

Kuro nodded slowly, the Force seeming to accept this as it showed her flashes of his choice to come to Alaris Prime. Slowly standing, she began to leave.

"Master?" Pausing at the door, she waited for Naruto to continue. "Master Qui-gon is going to speak with the Viceroy tomorrow. I was wondering…can I go with him? I'd like to hear what the Viceroy has to say, so that I can know more about the droids and what's going on with the planet."

"I don't mind either way. Much like with your choice to take this mission, it must be your choice. My permission is not needed for you to make the choices." Turning to him, her lips slowly turned to a smile to help let him be more at ease. "I do however, appreciate your concern, and willingness to inform me of where you're going. It will make it easier for me to contact you should I have anything more that we'll need to accomplish before we leave to Alaris."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before he bowed to Kuro. "Thank you master. I…I really appreciate that. I promise I won't let you down."

"Of course you won't." Naruto's eyes rose from his bow, curiously blinking at her statement. "You're my student, but your choices are your own. My teachings may reflect in those choices, but I trust that what I say will be reflected in how you act for the better. In fact, all I truly need is for you to follow the Force. That way, your path will never be lost from you, and you'll come to understand the very nature that is the will of the Force."

Turning from the room, she left a rather confused Naruto to ponder the words she'd said. She herself though, found herself biting her lip, ill at ease with her own choice. By leaving it up to Naruto, the path had been made clear to her, but at what cost? And for what purpose did the Force allow _him_ to control the outcome of events that should've been more clear to her and any other Jedi?

She didn't know, and meditation only seemed to bring more questions to her mind. She'd considered speaking to Naruto, and attempting to see if he knew anything about what he was doing, but had immediately shot it down. If he knew that his actions were affecting the possible outcomes she saw, then it was likely he'd become _inactive_ in an attempt to keep things from becoming uncertain. In many cases, inaction was far worse than any action he could take.

Letting out a sigh that was a mix of anxiousness and frustration, she let go of the emotions she felt and instead let her mind fall once more into the Force. Regardless of her choice, and by proxy Naruto's choice, she would follow the will of the Force no matter where it led her. It had not let her down before now, and she was certain it would not now.

She only hoped that the Force knew what it was doing in entrusting the fate of his mission, and perhaps even this world, to Naruto.

* * *

><p>AN: And here's another chapter really quickly written up. Naruto just can't seem to catch a break with these missions, but that's okay, he's sturdy and resolved, he'll be fine. Mostly.<p>

I had some fun with our favorite Sith's, and in exploring how Qui-gon and Tahl have shaped up. For those who don't know, Tahl is supposed to have died in 41 BBY (current year is 38 BBY) on New Apsolon. Obviously this didn't happen, which means her and Qui-gon actually got to sit down and discuss their feelings and such. Why did I do this? Well thankfully you should see on Alaris Prime.

In the meantime, I get to play around with the discussion between Naruto and Viceroy Nute Gunray next chapter! That should be interesting.

So I'll see you all around in that chapter of **From Darkness**.


	21. Chapter 21

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

Quick note, I'll be using these brackets { } to identify that a creature is speaking an alien language from now on, just so you all can read what is being said and know it's not Galactic Basic. It'll only show up towards the end, but I figured I'll let you know in advanced.

So, with that out of the way, onto the chapter!

* * *

><p>The Senate Building was unlike anything Naruto had seen in the galaxy. He couldn't see everything in the actual chamber, but from the open doors nearby he could see a few of the sets they had. Closing his eyes, he imagined it being filled with thousands of senators, in rows upon rows of the various species that inhabited the many universes.<p>

If anyone asked what Naruto loved about this place, it would be the number of beings that were here. If there were any place that spoke volumes about how many beings were in the universe, what kind of places he could go to, and just how many billions of people were in the universe. Even cooler was the idea that these people in this room were the ones who had been given the trust of their people and through them they'd tell the Jedi when they needed assistance on their worlds.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto slowly shook his head. He was getting too excited, and despite the fact he was trying to focus, he was getting distracted just a bit too much. Turning to where Qui-gon was patiently waiting, he quickly ran over to catch up. "Sorry, I just got lost in thought for a second."

"It's alright Naruto, there's no harm done." Qui-gon said with a gentle smile, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's go, the Viceroy is waiting."

Naruto nodded, eyes looking to where they were heading. It was still a ways away, which meant that there was still a large amount that he could see on their way there. He tried to keep his jaw closed as he walked through the halls to keep from looking out of place like a fool, but found himself pausing on occasion to gawk. Thankfully Qui-gon was kind and patient, and let him have a moment to take everything in before calling for him to catch up.

Despite the few pauses, they soon found themselves in front of the conference room where the Viceroy and the senator were seated. Stepping in, both Qui-gon and Naruto bowed to the duo with a soft smile. "Senator. Viceroy."

The senator glanced to the Viceroy Gunray, who slowly stood up. Hesitating briefly, he slowly returned the bow as well. "Welcome, master Jedi." His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Naruto, looking rather skeptical at his appearance for a second before returning his attention to Qui-gon. "I am pleased to see that the Jedi are taking our plight seriously."

Qui-gon nodded slowly, seating himself across from the Senator with Naruto sitting across from Gunray. Gunray slowly sat down himself, taking a deep breath as he leaned back. As he did so, the Senator sat forwards to take over for a second. "If you recall, our people have been accused of attacking the Wookiees with our battle droids." Shaking his head, he looked to them with a pleading look. "We did not create our army for this. Our army is to protect our people, our ships, and our trade goods. To have someone take them and use them in such a manner is disgraceful and we will not stand for it."

"We understand your concern." Qui-gon said slowly, taking in their expressions silently. "I understand you said that this shipment was stolen from you. Is there anything more you can tell us about this? Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated."

The senator opened his mouth for a second, but was stopped as Gunray placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning to him, Gunray's face remained concerned, though he attempted to keep a stoic look. "Of course. What is it you'd like to know?"

"You said something about a droid shipment." Naruto said, recalling the replay of Gunray's plea to the Senate. "There was a…specific droid that you mentioned. Was there someone special about that particular droid compared to the others?"

"No." Gunray's reply was pointed, and to the point. "The DRN-thirty-eight was no more remarkable than the other droids except that it boasts a combat processor AI which allows it to relay battle information to the other droids. While this is not so much a vast improvement to the battle droids that we've built seeing how our signal system works quite well, it means we can let it go without needing to constantly supervise them every second."

Naruto nodded, thinking about it with a soft hum. Biting his lip, he closed his eyes and tried to think of everything that he knew about the Neimoidians and Wookiees. He'd had to catch up on the information after Qui-gon had invited him to this meeting.

"That means that it's likely that whatever they're doing on the planet requires the droids to be self-sufficient." Qui-gon tapped his knee gently, mind racing over what he knew about the planet. "It's likely that they're looking for something on the planet, and they're using the droids as a distraction to keep the local wildlife from bothering them."

"Then why did they attack the Wookiees?" Gunray asked, shaking his head. "Even if they were focused on attacking the local wildlife, we only run them on protocols to attack pirating vessels. The Wookiees vessel for a scout ship would be nothing of the sort."

"Maybe they were reprogramed to attack any ship that came into the system?" Naruto said, mentally able to envision that kind of reprogramming. "I mean, if they're all connected through a signal, then they would only need to change the signal."

Qui-gon nodded, a slight frown marring his face. "Likely they didn't hack the signal though, since your Trade Federation knows its programing fairly well. It's more plausible that they simply added a subprogram, which made them attack the Wookiees when they attempted to approach the planet."

Gunray looked surprised by this, and yet was remarkably calm. "I see. Then, if you were able to stop the droids?"

"Then we'd be able to figure out their purpose on the planet." Naruto replied, feeling rather assured about that.

"However, to clear your name we'll need to either find the central control tower where the signal is being broadcasted or the person who stole the droids from you." Qui-gon interjected, making sure that the two before him understood that there was more to it than just simply defeating the droids. "We won't have anything to base it off of though, which means we'll have to bring back the code for you and the Senators to double check to see what was changed."

The Neimoidians considered it for a moment, thinking about it silently. While it was obvious that they would need to rely heavily on the Jedi before them, the chance was likely that unless it were a group that the thief could escape. Muttering softly to themselves, they turned back to the two with a look of uncertainty. "And, how can you promise that our name will be cleared? Obviously this will make any negotiations between us and the Wookiees go far sour seeing how it appears that our droids are attacking them. Someone is trying to sully our good name, and I want confirmation that you will be able to get the information."

Qui-gon was silent, knowing already that there was nothing he could truly do to promise this. Naruto on the other hand frowned at that and crossed his arms. "Didn't you hear him? There's more than one way to find the truth. So all we have to do is get at least one of them, and your name will be cleared." Thinking about it, Naruto shrugged. "I personally want to catch the thief so that they don't steal from you again, but even if we don't get them we'll get you the coding changed in the signal. That way you can make the signal unhackable."

"And you are sure that you can find the signal?" Gunray asked, looking quite skeptical. Obviously he didn't like the fact that the person who was informing of this was a young boy, but he knew that the Jedi's youth were quite astute for their age.

Naruto shrugged. "We have the technology to find it, so it shouldn't be hard to find. And if we catch them, then we'll get them to take us to it."

Qui-gon couldn't help but blink slowly at how confident Naruto sounded in this situation. In front of two rather important people, leaders on their worlds, he sat calmly and confidently spoke to them without fear. Slowly, his lips curled into a smile before he returned his gaze to them. "He's right. So long as we're able to find them, we'll be able to find the signal. And if we don't find them, we will find the signal and clear your name."

The senator seemed more relieved from what they said, but Gunray's frown remained on his face, considering their options silently. Looking between them, he hummed softly as he tapped his knee slowly. "I can see you seem confident in yourselves. Rest assured, we do believe in you as well. However, we would feel that we have…slighted you, should we let you go in alone. With your permission, and the permission of the Wookiees, we'd be happy to send in a battalion of battle droids under the command of the Wookiees to assist them in taking out the droids that have been attacking them."

Both Jedi blinked slowly at this proclamation, caught off guard by this. The Trade Federation were known to keep a tight hold on their droids, and getting them without paying money for them was near impossible. However, not only were they offering them, they were doing it of their own volition. It was out of place, and seemed rather out of character from what they knew about them. Glancing to one another, Naruto shrugged and let Qui-gon take the lead as he had no idea what to do about this.

"We thank you for your generosity." Qui-gon said after a moment, speaking slowly as he thought about what they were offering. "We'll be sure to relay your message to the Wookiees, and we'll inform you of their decision as soon as they've informed us of their choice. Is there anything else we should tell them about while we're discussing this?"

"No, that should about do it." The senator said after a moment, getting a nod from the Viceroy. "In the meantime, we'll await your return, and the Wookiees choice concerning our offer."

"Of course." Qui-gon said, slowly standing up and bowed to them. "Thank you for your time and for the information you've provided us."

"Of course." Gunray said, inclining his head slightly in a nod to Qui-gon. "We trust that your skills will meet the task, and that we'll be seeing the results of your mission soon enough, I'm sure."

Naruto stood next to Qui-gon and bowed to the pair. "Of course. Until we see you again, may the Force be with you."

Gunray stared at Naruto silently, seeming to mull over his reply. Finally, he bowed ever so slightly back. "And may the Force be with you as well."

x-=-x

Naruto frowned as they left the room. He gave himself enough time for them to walk away before turning to Qui-gon with a soft whine. "Battle droids?"

Qui-gon chuckled, knowing the infamy of Naruto's disdain of droids. "Don't worry, I doubt that the Wookiees will accept their offer, generous as it is. Granted, they'd be a boon and it's possible that we'd be able to use them later, but the Wookiees are a proud people who will not accept something like droids assistance so easily. It's likely that while we're on the planet, should you be where you can see it, you'll see the Wookiees rip the limbs off of droids."

"Rip their limbs off? Whoa…" Naruto blinked, recalling a point where he'd said he'd challenge a Wookie at some point in the future. Knowing this information made him pause and look down at his hands. _"Looks like I've got another thing to add to my 'to do' list…"_

"Excuse me, are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Eh?" Naruto stumbled, hearing his name from someone foreign. Glancing around, he blinked as one of the senators approached him with a smile, looking right at him. "Um, yeah that's me. Can I…help you?"

"My apologies if I'm interrupting anything," The man glanced to Qui-gon who merely shook his head before continuing. "My name is Senator Palpatine, representative of Naboo."

Naruto's eyes widened and he suddenly looked far more attentive. "Oh wow, I…" Bowing quickly, he found himself unsure what to say. "It's…um, I mean." Shaking his head, he took a deep breath. "I remember hearing about you, I just didn't think I'd get to meet you in person. Last I'd been told you were on Naboo discussing the Gungans presence on Naboo."

"Well, yes I was. However, I was privileged to have those discussions go quite smoothly, and merely had to get the proper documentation from King Veruna." Palpatine smiled gently, eyes falling to the lightsaber Naruto had strapped to his belt. "I see that you're using the gift he gave you."

"Hm? Oh yeah." Naruto brushed his fingers against the cool chrome metal. "I was really surprised that he gave it to me personally. I mean, I was hoping for something of Naboo make but…nothing like this."

Qui-gon raised a brow at that, having not heard about this tale. Perhaps more surprising was the fact that Naruto had not gone about boasting about it upon arriving back in the temple. Letting himself step back, he decided to simply listen to see what had happened.

"My boy, what you did for Naboo was nothing short of spectacular." Palpatine said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Their systems had been down for months, and within not even a day, you'd proved to be more than capable of besting the devices of the saboteur."

"But…he got away." Naruto's hand slowly went to his throat, the memory of his grip in the Force and his words still quite clear in his mind.

"Perhaps," Palpatine said slowly, a soft chuckle slipping past his lips as he continued. "But then, justice always does have a funny way of taking care of things."

"Well it needs to get it done faster…" Naruto grumbled softly, shaking his head.

"A sentiment I'm sure most people here would quite openly welcome." Palpatine said with a chuckle. Looking behind him, he seemed to take note of something and sighed heavily. "Sadly, those kinds of matter are what I must attend to at this very moment. However, I do wish to pass on something before I leave."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a data card. Handing it to Naruto, he let the boy turn it over in his hands in confusion as he examined it thoroughly. After spending three months in Naboo, he was able to recognize the artistic patterns found there, though otherwise he could see no difference from any other data card he'd ever received. "Um…thank you?"

Palpatine chuckled, seeing through Naruto's transparent mask. "It a Naboo made data card, nothing overly special about it. However, I thought you might be interested in keeping in contact with those you got to know back on Naboo. It was mentioned that you'd made some friends there, and I figured that Jedi or not, you might wish to keep those connections. As such, I had the king send this with me, and he asked that I extend an open door to you should you ever require it. I'd be happy to have someone help transmit your messages to my world, as well as pass on any that are sent back in return."

Naruto's eyes widened, and suddenly the simple data card seemed much, much more valuable. A way to speak to his friends on Naboo? And somewhere he could receive the messages beside the temple, where he'd feel he was under constant scrutiny? Slowly, Naruto bowed to Palpatine, this time with far more respect than his previous quick bowing. "Thank you so much. I-I don't know what to say."

"There is no need." Palpatine said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "I hope that all goes well for you on your journey, and perhaps, we'll continue to cross paths every so often."

"Yeah, of course." Naruto said, grinning brightly. "I'd be happy to meet up with you again at some point. It's a promise!"

"Well then, I look forward to that meeting." Palpatine nodded to Naruto, and then gave a slight bow to Qui-gon. "Until then."

Naruto watched the man go, fingers brushing against the data card gently for several moments. As his mind wandered, his mind slowly reminded him that he hadn't come alone, and that the person with him was a Jedi Master. Turning to Qui-gon slowly, he glanced to his face to check his reaction.

If there was any disapproval in the man's face, he couldn't see it. From what he could tell, Qui-gon appeared far more surprised than anything. "Well then, that was unexpected."

"Um, what do you mean?" Naruto asked as he slowly slipping the data chip into his pocket.

"Well," Qui-gon glanced down at him with a bemused smile. "For one, you didn't mention your adventures on Naboo when you got back, so I don't know what he referred to. And second is the fact that the senator essentially told you that he'd constantly be willing to speak with you, a high honor for someone so young." Crossing his arms, he made a motion for them to leave. "It seems you have some story-telling to do Naruto. Why don't you tell me of your adventure on Naboo while we head back to the Temple?"

Naruto was a bit caught off guard by his attitude upon realizing he'd been left out of the loop, but bounced back quickly. It took him only a moment to think on how best to start it, but eventually he found himself grinning as he began.

"Okay, so imagine me, a bunch of the training droids, and no lightsaber on a ship…"

x-=-x

Nute Gunray was a very smart Neimoidian. He'd gotten quite far during the Stark Hyperspace War, which had elevated him to his current rank as Viceroy. Shortly after that, he'd struck a deal with the mysterious Darth Sidious who'd helped him rid many of the Trade Federation Directorate and appoint a council completely comprised of Neimoidians. With his hands untied, and an army of battle droids beginning to be built up, life had seemed good.

Moving to his suite, he fidgeted nervously as he considered his options. He already knew the first thing he had to do, but what had happened had shifted so quickly for him that he was almost as stunned as the rest of his people. He hadoriginally sent the droid army himself to Alaris Prime, but upon arrival they'd been hijacked by someone who'd been waiting for them. In a way, he'd been telling the truth to the senate and the Jedi, but the fact that someone had been waiting for their army to show up so they could utilize the opportunity to take control of their droids was unthinkable. And then they'd attacked a Wookiee survey ship, which was making their standing in the Senate look far worse that it may have been otherwise.

Scowling softly at that, his hand gripped the communicator tightly. It was an option, he knew this, but he already knew that doing so was also foolhardy. Sidious did not like dealing with the Jedi, and often would have him do something to redirect the Jedi away from any activities they needed assistance with before it was completed. This time though, he'd been unable to get in contact with Sidious to help take care of things before they had gotten out of hand, and he'd been forced to turn to the Senate and the Jedi.

Recalling the meeting room, he scoffed at what he remembered. "A child. Nothing more than a child, and they expect someone like _him_ to be capable of defeating our battle droids?"

While he obviously wouldn't be alone, and the Wookiees made up for any child, the very fact that they'd had him at such an important meeting insulted him. This was a matter of business, of honor, and of money.

Through some of the surveys he'd received, and others he'd had stolen from the Wookiees, there were rich deposits of gems and ore on the planet. Enough so that they could continue to fuel the buildup of their army and increase it by perhaps another one to five percent. While a seemingly insignificantly low amount, in the long run that would mean that the battle droids would be increased by at least ten to fifty for every thousand battle droids. With hundreds of thousands of droids put into production, that number would begin to add up quite quickly.

Sitting down at his table, he placed the communicator on it and stared at it. Could he really trust this Sidious? If he were unable to get the results he wanted from the Jedi, how would he be able to get even so much as his toes brushing along the surface of Alaris Prime? Even his show of generosity was a cover, the true purpose of the battle droids to find and destroy the other droids so that they could take the signal first so that when the senate asked what went wrong they could have something to show for it even if the Jedi did not. With the proud Wookiees as their potential traveling companions though, he did not harbor any strong ideas that they would allow his creations to come anywhere close to them, even if they _were_ on their side.

Growling, he pushed the communicator away. He would be patient this time. While he knew that as a man of action he could get more accomplished, he was also one who – though deemed through others eyes as a coward – understood the value of utilizing what others had as much as what he had. And in this case, the Jedi were offering to solve his problem. So, for now, he'd watch, wait, and prepare in case the worst happened.

x-=-x

Attichitcuk was an older, wise Wookiee who'd seen many years pass by him. He was a Wookiee of strong standing amongst his people, and in this most recent decade been a very vocal advocate in the senate asking for the Wookiees to be given the colonization rights to Alaris Prime. And now they had it. They had the authority to go and accomplish this goal, and set themselves up so that they might be able to expand a bit further into the galaxy.

There was just the issue of the Trade Federation's army suddenly landing on the planet and attacking their surveyors before they could continue their work. Their presence had troubled him, and while he held no ill will towards them, he had made it _very_ clear that their presence was unwanted and that he and his people desired them gone. Now.

So, as he sat across from the Jedi who were telling him that the Trade Federation wanted to 'assist' them by sending _another_ battalion of droids to help flush out their enemies, it was understandable that there was a hint of bite to his voice as he spoke. {No, we do not require the assistance of the Trade Federation. You may thank them for their assistance, however, we will not.}

Qui-gon sighed softly, and Attichitcuk understood that his response was expected. "Of course, I'll be sure to inform them of that when we speak with them." Glancing up to Attichitcuk, he smiled wryly. "Is there anything else you wish for me to convey while I am speaking with them?"

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. {No, you've done more than enough for me and my people. We are grateful for your assistance, and that you are coming to help find the source of this problem.} Hearing something bumping around, he leaned back and howled loud enough that it echoed in the back room slightly. {Be careful with that!}

"Sorry! I didn't – I mean, I just…sorry!"

Qui-gon glanced to Naruto, who had been inspecting some of the items that the Wookiees had with them curiously and chuckled. "I apologize if he seems…overzealous about everything. He's only left the temple twice now, and everything in the galaxy is still quite new to him."

{Don't worry, I understand.} Attichitcuk said, waving off the Jedi's worries. {My son, the one the youngling is speaking with, required some freedom himself some time ago, to travel the stars and see it all for himself. It's not an uncommon feeling after all, especially when you discover that you aren't alone or stuck in one spot in the universe.}

Chuckling softly, Qui-gon nodded as he recalled his time as a youngling, traveling the star with his master. It had seemed so long ago, especially with some of the missions he'd been on that had drained him at times, and made him feel old. When he thought of that he resisted the urge to groan and shake his head. Here he was, thinking of how old he felt when the being that sat across from him was likely three times as old if not older and still got up and gave rousing speeches before the senate.

{Still, the exploration of the universe is what has once more brought us back to this point.} Attichitcuk said, shifting in place with a soft grunt. {After all this time of waiting, struggling with the politics, and working to find a solution, we were given the right to do this, and now we are having it blocked from our grasp as someone wished to attack and keep us from the very planet we have worked so hard for.} Shaking his head, a soft rumble came from him once more. "There are some very foolish people who still roam this galaxy it seems.}

"Perhaps, but then their foolishness is often something that we must use as a device to teach those who are young to prevent them from doing so themselves." Qui-gon replied as he recalled many things he'd taught Obi-wan that had been changed from things he'd failed at as a padawan.

Hearing a soft grunting from behind them, the two looked to Naruto. Having seen the bowcaster that the Wookiees had brought with them, Naruto had apparently asked if he could look at it. From what he could tell, it seemed that Attichitcuk's son had then placed it in Naruto's arms and let him struggle for a second. Keeping a hand on his shoulder to prevent Naruto from falling, he knelt next to the boy and gently began tapping his knees and back. Despite the language barrier between them, Naruto slowly shifted his stance and straightened his back, allowing the weight to be pushed from his back to his legs. While it still didn't give him a snowballs chance at actually using the weapon, it allowed him to carry it despite its weight and his own size working against him.

"And perhaps, sometimes we simply need to teach things as they should be taught. I'm guessing those are some things that your son picked up from you?" Qui-gon asked, chuckling softly.

Attichitcuk grunted in approval, getting a glance from his son to nodded back to him. {My son has learned many things, and he has always been a good leader…in his own way.}

"I understand." Qui-gon said, glancing between the two groups before closing his eyes with a resigned sigh. "Attichitcuk, there's another reason I came here. After discussing the conditions of the droid army on the world, the Jedi Council wished to know if you would be comfortable with a second group of Jedi coming with you…but that their presence not be made known to the rest of the Wookiees until we arrive on the planet."

Attichitcuk leaned forwards, understanding that this was likely meant mainly for his ears only. {And why is it that we need keep this a secret from my people? Is there a matter of trust not between us?}

"It's not that, it's just that this has been discussed for a long time, and your people have fought hard for this. The fact that someone is stepping in, and attempting to cut you off right as you've achieved this worries them. They fear that someone may be plotting against you, and that should they learn of two teams of Jedi coming to Alaris Prime they may either run or become more aggressive."

{…I see.} Attichitcuk sighed, stroking his chin in thought. {My people will not appreciate this plan as well as you might think, however I will speak with them. Hopefully they'll understand the wisdom behind this…} Attichitcuk gave Naruto a sidelong glance, a thought occurring to him. {That wouldn't happen to be your apprentice, would it?}

"No, that's the other Jedi Master's apprentice." Qui-gon frowned at the question, not understanding why he'd been asked such a strange question.

Attichitcuk nodded. {I understand. It was wise of you to bring him here now, before we set out. Letting Chewbacca get the scent of his allies and meet them face to face should keep him or other Wookiees from attacking him should they meet before the boy and his master have found the droid control center.}

Qui-gon's eyes widened at that, realizing what he meant. He hadn't been thinking quite that far ahead when he'd brought Naruto, but looking back it not only made sense, but gave him a sense of relief in knowing that Naruto's presence would help him in the future.

Standing up, Attichitcuk waved his paw to Naruto and Qui-gon. {We shall see each other soon enough. For now, we shall rest and prepare ourselves for travel the day after next. Thank you again for your assistance master Jedi.} Turning to Naruto, he chuckled softly as Naruto still struggled with the bowcaster. {And thank you for coming. It's always nice to see the newest generation of Jedi.}

Naruto glanced between him and Qui-gon, unsure what to say. "Um…yes?"

Both Attichitcuk and Chewbacca chuckled at this, Chewbacca even patting him on the head before taking the bowcaster so that Naruto could straighten himself out.

"Um…did I say something wrong?" Naruto asked, still silently cursing his lack of knowledge with Shyriiwook.

Qui-gon shook his head patting Naruto's shoulder. "No, just not the answer they expected. Come on Naruto, we've a…interesting journey ahead of us."

Naruto beamed brightly, giving Qui-gon a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'm ready for anything!"

* * *

><p>AN: This chapter was going to be annoying no matter how I wrote it, so I decided to just knock it out. Next chapter we get to have some fun with Alaris Prime, as well as begin the search for our mysterious 'friend' who hijacked the Trade Federation's droid army. Who is this person? It's probably not who you think it is, but then I'm sure some of you are really good guessers.<p>

So guess away, and I'll see you on the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	22. Chapter 22

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p><em>Alaris Prime – One Month Later<em>

An'ya Kuro stood silently in the center of a glade of wroshyr trees in silent meditation. The sun's edges gently peaked out from above the edges of the trees, the dawn slowly beginning its daily crawl across the land as a new day approached. Slowly opening her eyes, she sighed heavily and shook her head.

Upon their arrival at the planet aboard the Thalmussen, things had been rough and simply become more frustrating for all involved. Despite a heavy handed landing, and being then forced to move quickly before their site was discovered, things had gone well on Qui-gon's and the Wookiees side. For her and Naruto, things were currently fruitless and quiet.

For a world that was supposedly taken over by battle droids, the only threat seemed to be in space. The droids –Vulture droids from what she'd been told – had swarmed them and made it quite difficult to enter the world. As soon as they broke into the atmosphere though, things had become quiet, eerily so. There were no mounted anti-aircraft, no missiles to shoot them down; just a more peaceful decent that left her staring planet-side, knowing that her part of this mission had become all the harder because of that.

Were she honest with herself, she would have _preferred_ to have been at least shot at during their decent. It would have given her an area to start with, something to go off of so that she could begin her search there. Without it, she was left roaming this world as lost as the strange species of Mynock she'd seen on occasion.

Glancing to the side, she shook her head with a light laugh at Naruto. The boy was almost too comfortable where he lay, his cloak the only thing wrapping him against the cold of the night. Unlike herself, Naruto had remained optimistic, and shortly after landing had taken to the world in a manner that she was caught completely off guard by. Having only spent a day or two on his home world, she'd almost forgotten that he was born and raised around trees, and that being in a place such as this was likely – on a subconscious level – relaxing for him.

She'd also been given a chance to really look at his skills during this time. When they'd had nothing to do at the end of the day, they sparred, meditated, and practiced their skills in the Force. Were it not for the fact that she'd been so wrapped up in the situation on Naboo, or even that their presence had been necessary at _that_ moment, she would have found this out sooner and understood her mistake.

"Naruto, it's time to get up. We're moving again." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Yet, even so, his eyes fluttered open and with a yawn he pushed himself to his feet. Dusting himself off, he shook the last bit of sleep from his eyes while she brought up a very rough looking map. "We've covered a great deal of distance from the west side of the ship, and Qui-gon and Attichitcuk have shown progress in the north. As such…today we'll move southwards."

"South?" Naruto asked, looking up into the trees as though searching for the sun. Groaning as he was reminded that he couldn't always see the sun through the trees, he shook his head. Despite having a compass, and despite knowing that Kuro had a very good sense of direction, Naruto's grin told her what he'd decided to do as he turned to her. "Don't worry, I've got it."

With a Force propelled leap, he rose straight upwards into the trees. While not nearly as large as those on Kashyyyk, they were large, and quite strongly built; more than capable of holding his weight. As such, he often used it as an excuse to jump up to the treetops during the morning as a sort of wake-up exercise, as well as to get a large breeze of fresh air in doing so.

Meanwhile, she merely began walking south, focused on the world around her, and on the Force. This planet, though carrying very little energy from beings living on the planet, was filled with all manner of plant life. She felt quite at home in a world like this, and in much the same way that Naruto had taken to it, she had felt herself enjoying their jaunt on the planet as well.

Looking to the grassy floor of their surrounds, her lips pressed tightly together as she searched for any sign that something was out of place. Footprints, overturned foliage, or something else. Much every area they'd been in so far, there was little to nothing that remotely resembled these things, and as such she'd been forced to move to the next area with Naruto in tow.

Speaking of, said boy landed behind her with a gentleness that was almost startling had she not seen him do so multiple times before. Truly he was not simply enjoying the forest; he _breathed_ it, making it one with himself on a level that she herself had taken time to get to. While he didn't have the skills she'd developed because of this bond, the skills he'd been developing since he was a padawan shined through and were quickly adapted to the area they traversed.

"Okay, so this way's south…" Naruto pointed in the direction she'd been walking, his words meant mainly to help himself process through what they would be doing. "And...there weren't any droids flying around that I could see, so we're just going to…wing it?"

"We're going to follow the will of the Force." Kuro said plainly, continuing on her way as she trudged deeper into the forest.

"Oh. Right." Naruto sighed, following her quickly so as to not lose her in the dense foliage.

While she would not openly admit it, Kuro was beginning to feel some levels of concern for the boy. Not necessarily for his wellbeing, as he was perfectly safe at the moment, but on a deeper level. His mind constantly was in thought when they weren't doing something to the point that the boy had difficulties standing still, and often would flinch when she'd speak to him during these moments. He'd been regarded in the temple as a troublemaker, yet he'd been quite well behaved in the classes of Naboo. Despite being a proficient duelist, enough to win his matches against stronger or more agile foes, his footwork left much to be desired at times.

So how had he gotten this far? She knew it wasn't from lack of skill or abilities, but rather she thought of this once more on his mental state, and his connection to the Force.

The first part was one she couldn't answer without knowing more about Naruto's mind, and while she was many things, she did have a respect for her apprentice's personal thoughts. Despite her ignorance to what he was thinking though, she got a sense that Naruto was wary, uncomfortable at times, and perhaps even reluctant to follow her every word. She'd had similar problems with other students, but there was something about this that was bugging her, and only within the last week had she even begun to guess at why.

He didn't trust her. They'd spent six years, the both of them training, and preparing themselves; her through following the will of the Force and centering herself so that she could be readily connected to it for when she trained him, and him through learning the basics of all things Jedi knew so that he could be able to move further along in his training. Despite this time, when she'd told him to dodge blaster bolts in the ship, he'd done so, even without the training saber that she'd placed on a seat not too far from where he'd been. It had been his own ignorance, or perhaps it was pride, that kept him from even asking if there was one on the ship he could use.

Then, on Naboo, she'd left him in the speeder with a stranger neither of them knew. She'd forgotten about him, though she didn't tell him, and had proceeded to speak with the Gungans instead. Meanwhile he could've been carted off into the Unknown Region and sold as a slave to Hutt know who, and she'd have never seen him again. Just like Aurra. To make matters worse, he'd been attacked and nearly killed by Bruck Chun, only to have her show up right afterwards.

Rather than attempt to help him, to tend to those internal wounds of his mind, she'd cut herself off from him. Their discussion still burned in her mind, and she'd stepped away to keep herself from forming an attachment to him, and vice versa.

"_You're wrong."_

Those words. So full of themselves, and yet spoken with an innocence of a child that had made her pause. He'd frozen up, expecting rebuke, expecting her to argue or berate him for having such thoughts. No guidance of the Force had prompted her next words, which had further thrown her into this silent frustration.

"…_we shall see."_

Shaking her head with a sigh, she let her mind move to the next topic.

He was a troublemaker in the temple; not to the point where he was a danger or a nuisance, but enough that he was seen and heard by all in the temple. His reputation preceded him, and his actions spoke volumes in several ways that some had failed to notice. They spoke of his skills, his cunning, his insight, and his fear. A fear that might've been avoided had she been more clear when speaking to the boy when she'd left him.

He'd not done it for the attention, the negative fame, or the idea of showing off. He did it for the labels, 'troublemaker' and 'difficult student'. People had been rather loose lipped about those who were normally given to her as her student it seemed, as he'd become everything they would look for in a youngling to assess that giving him to her was the right choice. It was completely unnecessary, as she'd already told the council that she _would_ take Naruto, regardless of anything else.

Looking to the boy once more, she softly hummed as she considered him for a moment more. He'd shown great skill during the duels in the younglings examination, but after sparing with him a few times, she'd found his skills in the saber forms lacking, and in all honesty he shouldn't have won. After reviewing it again though, and sparing several times more, she'd come to a rather odd conclusion.

He'd cheated.

Looking back on it, it should have been obvious to anyone who'd watched. Yet, as their eyes focused on the forms and stances, none had bothered looking deeper. She'd heard the words of Master Dooku, and at that time she'd agreed with him; Naruto didn't have the proper form, stance, or practice to have been able to take Sheeka in a fair fight. Beneath it all though, the Force had more than likely been a maelstrom of energy that Naruto had directed around himself to give himself an invisible edge.

Use of the Force was not uncommon during such spars. Drawing on strength through the Force, speed, stamina, all of these things were known. Naruto however had likely gone a step further. The perspiration in the room had been present, and while there was some remaining from previous fights, she found it hard to believe that _both_ of them at the end would conveniently slip and head-butt one another. Though, perhaps rather than subtle, it was more that it was so sudden and unexpected, that the brief instant of its occurrence was simply brushed off and none were the wiser – at least, none who weren't paying attention.

She herself had honestly missed it, too busy being cloaked in the Force as she observed the children. Recalling the knowing smile of Dooku and Yoda, she guessed that both of them _had_ noted the boy's technique, but had let it go as it was something that younglings needed to understand while fighting; sometimes, your opponent doesn't play fair.

That being said, this also made it a bit difficult to train with Naruto, as he was constantly wanting to shift how the battle was being fought. While she would try to help him with straight on tactics, he'd curve around and have the Force chuck rocks around; not always at her, but in a way that would make an opponent dodge or flinch. He'd even once begun picking up a log before she'd ended up stopping the session because by that time he'd strayed from where they began.

And yet, these skills made him a perfect padawan for her. He was resourceful, intelligent, and was more than willing to fight dirty if it meant that he could find a way to end a fight without being forced to do so in a way he didn't want. So why…

Why did she feel so distant from him?

"Naruto," She said softly, pausing as she inwardly cursed her tongue.

Pulling up next to her, Naruto tilted his head curiously as he looked up to her. "Yes master?"

"…I need you to scout around with your doppelgangers." She said after a moment, pushing her thoughts to the side as her eyes caught sight of something behind Naruto. "We need to be very, very careful."

Naruto didn't question her, two of them shimmering into appearance before all three looked at him. "And, what are we looking for?"

Biting her lip, she walked over to the tree and brushed her hand across the fresh claw marks of a creature she hadn't yet realized was on this world. "Gundarks."

x-=-x

Naruto had ended up cursing under his breath for the last couple of minutes as his doppelgangers had run off, eyes on the marking of the tree. He knew very little about gundarks, but he knew enough to know that they were smarter than they looked, and that they likely hit just as hard as they looked. Worse still, from what Kuro had said, they'd stumbled quite a bit too close to the nest, and by now likely knew of their presence.

He'd seen holo images of gundarks in the past while researching some of the different planets he'd been curious about. These four armed creatures were known to be vicious, battle ready from birth, with bat-like ears that helped give their senses so that they could find and viciously take down their prey by trampling them. While non-sentient, they did have a concept of basic tools such as clubs, which they might also use on their prey. Neither of these options were something he wanted to think about

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes to try and feel what each of his clones were feeling. The point in using them was to help determine how far, or how close they were to the nest without putting themselves in harms' way. And while they could go 'around' it, they'd have to know where the nest actually was before they could do that.

As he felt the Force Clones walking around, he was happy to note that they thought like him. He'd never used them for surveying before, or used this technique to mind meld with them so as to direct them, but from what he could tell, it was working quite well so far.

Except for finding the gundarks. Despite all manner of searching, he was finding that whatever gundark had recently been where they were, they'd either left really quickly, or they'd gone a different way than either of his clones were going. Not yet willing to chance it, he had them press on.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he glanced up to An'ya who knelt next to him. "Anything yet?"

"…no." Naruto shook his head, eyeing the mark on the tree with a confused look. "I don't get it. If they're this close to here, how did we not spot them last night?"

"Perhaps they're close, but not quite that close as of yet." She said slowly, her own eyes and senses expanded slightly to help her view the world around her. "We didn't draw attention to ourselves, and we've gone without a fire during our search."

"…do you think they heard our lightsabers?" Naruto asked, feeling foolish for asking seeing how the lightsabers didn't emit enough light to fend of this predator of the forest.

Thankfully, An'ya didn't fault him for his thoughts. "No, it's more likely they're deeper in the woods. Perhaps we should simply move, and keep our wits about us."

Naruto sighed, shrugging as he began to stand up. "Alright then, let's –"

With a pained grunt, Naruto began falling over. An'ya quickly grabbed him, stopping his fall as the boy struggled to move. Placing a hand on his head, she silently cursed as she felt his mind trying to blank out. "Oh no…"

She'd heard of this happening, however she'd never met anyone advanced or proficient enough with the Force Clone technique to fully understand it. One of the things that made it difficult for most people to deal with was the information feedback; feeling what they felt as they felt it, and in some cases even going so far as to feel other things such as touch. Or pain. Or even feel the death of one of their clones.

In this case, judging by how Naruto's mind was attempting to _insist_ that his body wasn't working, she had a strong feeling that it was the latter. Closing her eyes, she focused on the Force to clear his mind. _"Naruto. We need to know where they came from. We need to move. Naruto. Naruto!"_

Pushing a bit deeper, she ignored everything except his consciousness. She could almost feel the sensation of him sinking, drowning as his mind was assaulted by the feelings of his clone. Delving deeper, she 'reach out' and grabbed his 'hand' to try pulling him back. In the back of her mind, she could feel the Force telling her to move, and move soon, but she wouldn't do so until she'd drawn Naruto out of this state of mind.

"_Wake up brat."_

An'ya recoiled at the sound of another voice in Naruto's mind, inadvertently yanking Naruto's consciousness forwards. Hearing him gasp for air like a greedy man who'd been truly drowning, his eyes snapped to hers in a panic.

"They're coming."

Those words were all she needed to know. Gripping him in her arms, she gathered the Force around her and bolted from her position. Not a moment later, there was a loud crash and screech as one of the gundarks thundered through where she'd been standing not a moment before. Keeping him close, she rose and called on the Force to boost her speed as she dove further into the foliage.

Behind her she could hear more of them approaching, and from the sound of it they had already caught onto her trail. She didn't know if she was heading further into the gundarks nest, or if she was beginning to leave the area, but she did know that she didn't want to be around when they caught her.

Gritting her teeth, she skid to a halt before changing directions. Subtle prompts from the Force were all that she got before the gundarks were upon her, allowing her to narrowly dodge through them despite the lead she'd had on them a moment before. From the multiple crashes of their bodies against nearby trees, she found herself cursing more as they were now outnumbered at least two to one, with a few more on the way.

"Master…" Naruto muttered, his mind still struggling to return to focus from his experience. "I can run…"

An'ya nodded, but didn't let him down just yet. She didn't know how fast or how far he would run before his mind returned once more to believe itself broken, but she also knew that if they ran like this they both would be caught. Noting a small series of ditches off to the side, she slipped into one and set him down.

She listened carefully for a few minutes, enhancing her senses with the Force. While part of her wanted to reach out and bend the light around them, she had a feeling that even without sight of them, the gundarks would still attack the very area where their scent was the strongest. Hearing them still struggling to catch up, she turned her gaze back to Naruto.

Grabbing his cheek gently, she turned his head to him with a stern gaze. "Are you sure you can move?"

Naruto hesitantly nodded, pushing himself to his feet. While he winced as he straightened out his back, he was soon standing beside her. "Yeah…I can manage."

"Good, because we're running _now_." She said, pushing him away as the gundarks crashed out of the foliage once more, searching for them rather than charging in this time.

The two of them ran, Naruto barely able to keep upright, with An'ya staying just close enough to help should he fall. The pace slowly picked up, as Naruto's tenacity began winning out over, and his retook his control over his motor functions. By the time he got full control over them though, they'd found themselves driven towards one of the few things they didn't want to see at the moment.

"Oh come on!" Naruto shouted as he skidded towards the ledge. It was a fairly sharp drop, which led to a fairly deep valley that had a series of rapids running through it beginning no far before where they were now. While it was obvious that the two of them could easily traverse it, from the way the gundarks had been rushing through the forest, they both knew that if they tried running across here, they'd be caught in no time.

An'ya let her eyes dart about, looking for something that might help them. Feeling there was no other choice, she pushed Naruto toward the tree line. "Follow it back in. We'll have to chance it."

Naruto nodded, realizing that their situation was suddenly becoming far more dangerous than it had been mere moments before. As he began running, Naruto stumbled in place as his eyes caught sight of something from the far end of the tree line. "Master, look!"

An'ya turned, eyes widening as she saw what he did. "By the Force…"

It was only a few, and only for a moment, but both of them were able to clearly see the movement of something flying through the trees on the other side of the valley; something that didn't belong there, and had a very distinct thrumming sound that resonated even across the wide expanse. From the look of it, it had been some form of upright speeder, the likes of which were known mainly to droid seeing how most sentient beings preferred to sit and ride their speeders that way. Which meant that somewhere nearby, they had another clue as to the whereabouts of the droid army.

Their silent elation was not to last though, as the gundarks cries alerted them seconds before they burst out of the woods. The two of them bolted from the ledge, moving towards the forest once more in an attempt to outrun them. With the wide area in front of them, both of them began to realize the inevitable outcome of this run; they weren't going to make it.

Naruto, gritting his teeth, turned and ran towards the nearest tree. Leaping upwards, he grabbed the nearest branch and yanked himself upwards in an attempt to climb as high as he could. An'ya frowned at this idea, knowing full and well that it wouldn't last long enough since the gundarks would likely find a way to bring him down. With one gundark right on their heels, she had no choice but to run as she sought out a way to help them.

_SNAP-HISS._

From above her, she heard a loud shout and was startled to hear the gundark roar in pain. Whirling around, her eyes widened as she saw a flash of orange as the gundark rear back and begin flailing. Looking up at it, she could see that its right ear had been lopped off, likely by the surprise attack Naruto had del t to it in his dive. Then she realized he hadn't attacked and jumped off; he was still on the gundarks back.

"Naruto, get off of it!" She shouted, reaching into her cloak to draw her own lightsaber.

"I can't!" Naruto shouted, gripping the creatures coat as he tried to hold on. While he could attack it at any moment, he didn't want to lose his grip on the creature and fall off either, as the other gundarks had caught up and were circling him and his 'mount' with aggressive barks and motions.

One of the gundarks ignored Naruto and his gundark altogether, instead focusing on her. When it leapt for her though, it did not find weak defenseless prey, but rather the blade of a lightsaber which cut through its arm. Spinning on her heels, An'ya leapt into the air and landed on the attacking gundark as it tried to stumble and turn towards her. From her position on its back, she slammed her lightsaber into the base of its neck. With a gurgle its stumble deepened, until it finally fell over with an ominous death rattle.

Behind her, Naruto was doing his best to fend off the gundarks that were approaching the one he was riding. It had attempted to drag him off of itself, but with a wild swing of his arm, he'd cut something of it and had ended up with it stumbling around quite a bit more. From the glance he was able to get, it looked like he'd caught at least half of the creatures hand. While part of him wanted to shout in victory, the other gundarks seemed to have other plans.

Before he could try to think of something, anything which could help him at this moment in time, the gundark he was on was slammed into by another. Then another. Soon all of those surrounding him were ramming into one another in an attempt to get him to be thrown off. They'd likely seen him cut though their friend's hand and ear with his lightsaber, and didn't wish to try to reach out and touch him if it meant they'd lose a limb as well.

Hearing another screech of pain, he barely caught sight of a flash of purple before he felt the gundark beneath him screech as it was rammed into once more. It looked like his master was trying to draw them off, and from the fact that one side of the gundark was no longer being attacked, he silently thanked her for that. As it was struck again, he realized that it was beginning to head more in one direction now, and with how wildly it spun in place, he couldn't see it until it stumbled and began slipping. Looking to the side, his eyes widened as he realized that the cliffs edge they'd stood next to only a moment before.

"No!"

"Oh crap!" Naruto shouted, the gundark beneath him seeming to have the same opinion as the other gundarks ignored its pained plea's and rammed it a final time. Feeling the initial weightlessness of gravity taking ahold of him, his eyes looked to the cliff.

An'ya looked back at him, eyes wide as she realized what was happening only a second too late. Reaching out her hand to grab him with the Force, she was backhanded by one of the gundarks she'd been attacking a second before and sent flying away from him. As he lost sight of her, he could hear a bestial, bear-like cry as something burst from above him, and the sound of blaster fire.

Looking around, he struggled to clip his deactivated lightsaber to his belt. He needed to focus on the Force, slow his fall, do something to help his situation. Almost as soon as he'd put his lightsaber away though, he was grabbed out of the air and pulled into a tight grip. Staring back into the menacing eyes of the gundark he'd jumped on, Naruto deadpanned. Behind it, he could see the very, _very_ quickly approaching waters of the rapids approaching.

"…bring it on." He muttered, gathering the Force around him to act like armor to keep from being crushed by the gundark mere seconds before they hit something – from the crack he highly doubted it that it was water – and afterwards were submerged.

Despite the shocking cold of the water, Naruto was able to keep his wits about him. However, even with that helping him, he also found that he was unable to escape the dead weight of the gundark as it fell on top of him and kept him submerged as they raced down the rapids.

Struggling for air, as he'd mainly focused on defending himself from the landing rather than on getting air, he tried clawing his way around the creature. It still had him in somewhat of a grip which made it more difficult to get around it, and he quickly decided to _not_ go near its face. Whether or not it was dead didn't matter at this point, its teeth were sharp, and he wasn't going anywhere it could potentially bite him.

After almost a moment of struggling, he froze and closed his eyes, gathering the Force as quickly as he could. There was no way he'd be able to get out at this rate, but maybe if he did something a bit more…unconventional, he'd have a chance. With a small grunt, he gathered the Force into a ball within himself, imagining it condensing into a single point with himself being at the epicenter. With the last bit of breath he had, he let out a soundless shout as he forced it to expand as much and as quickly as he could get it to do so.

The result was almost instantaneous. The gundark's arms were violently shoved off of him, and he could feel its weight lifted from him. All around him, the water was shoved backwards and upwards, curving into a large dome around him. Through the fleck of water, air was dragged inwards and gave Naruto a second to _breath_ before it all came crashing down again, forcing him to the bottom of the rapids.

Thankfully, the gundark wasn't one of the things to come crashing down on him. While he could hear it splash back into the water, he was freed from its grasp and able to swim away. Through the Force, he narrowly dodged a couple of rocks that littered the rapids and caused its perilous journey to become even more dangerous. He didn't have the ability to dodge them all, and slammed into several of them as the raging waters forced him into one after another. With slow, cautious movements, he began using that to help him rise back to the surface once more. As his head bobbed above water, he slammed into another stone and grabbed on. Coughing and sputtering in pain, he pulled himself up and onto the rock slowly, happy to see that it was close enough to the shore that he could swim to it without getting swept away.

Biting his lip, he decided he had no choice but to chance it. Diving back into the water, with a clear direction this time, he made his way over to the shore. Digging his fingers into the sand as he dragged himself up to it, he found himself gently kissing the ground as he laughed softly. "Ugh, I am never doing that again…"

"Hands up."

Naruto's eyes became hollow, and blank upon hearing the almost static voice above him. Slowly looking upwards, he found himself looking cross-eyed as he stared down the barrels of E-5 blaster rifles, held by a small squad B-1 battle droids.

* * *

><p>AN: And here we go~<p>

I know that a lot of the beginning was based around An'ya Kuro, but to be fair, she's still making mistakes, and still being forced to learn as well. Naruto _is_ a different kind of person than most people are used to, and it always seems like unless you're completely evil, you're going to get a case of 'Naruto virus'; symptoms include: sudden change of ideas, a shift from a negative to a more positive outlook, and the overwhelming urge to either fight beside him or strangle him for his stupidity.

And yes, Naruto is being separated from Kuro…again. But at least this time it wasn't her fault, so hey, she's getting better. My bet's still on their getting separated a couple more times during their career together, but hey, that's just me.

So, until next time, work out to get strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark, and I'll see you all on the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>She had lost him. By the Force, she had <em>lost <em>him.

A violet blade blurred into motion, cutting through the ranks of its enemies. Howls and screeches didn't reach its ears, for there was nothing more than the blade. And its purpose, was to cut.

Again. Not only now, but back on Naboo…and Ord Namurt. Why did this happen?

Size didn't matter. Age didn't matter. As it leapt over another, it could see its arm falling to the ground as it stumbled, and another took its place. This one too, met the fate of its predecessor.

Should she follow? Track him down and bring him home? Or…was this another test? The will of the Force…

The stampede of creatures seemed to slow, and it was only now that the sound of another entity had entered the fray. Blaster fire? No, it was deeper than that, with more power, and from how it slammed into them had some ballistics to it. Bowcasters.

Slowly stepping back, An'ya Kuro's eyes slowly faded back into focus. Closing her eyes, she painstakingly attached her lightsaber to her belt and let out a deep breath. When her eyes opened again, she saw the mess of gundarks she'd been previously fighting splayed out. While she could count which ones were killed with the bowcaster, she was also painfully aware of the ones that weren't. And she was also aware of the one who was missing.

Turning her gaze to the Wookiee nearest to her, she found herself completely unable to speak for a few seconds. Thankfully, he was surveying the scene, and had not yet turned to her, which allowed her to collect herself. "…my padawan fell into the river."

"Naruto?"

Glancing to the tree line, she was startled to see master Qui-gon and Obi-wan approaching with the Wookiees. Had they strayed northwards in their travels? No, they had been heading southbound. So why were they here?

"What in the world are you two doing here?" She asked, the distraction helping to draw her out of her previous mindset.

"One of the scouts had informed us of a nest of gundarks near here." Obi-wan said, motioning to said gundarks. "We weren't sure which direction you too, but figured that if you hadn't gotten here, we'd take care of them. To keep them from being a nuisance in the future."

"…I see." An'ya turned back to the gundarks, eyes reclaiming their distant look for a second. Hearing the barks and growls of Shryiiwook, she immediately brought herself back to the world around her. She still had a job she had to do after all. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Naruto." Qui-gon said, motioning to the valley behind her. "He wanted to know if it was Naruto who fell in the river."

An'ya Kuro paused, glancing to the Wookiee with a quirked brow. "How do you know Naruto?"

"He was with me when I went to meet Attichitcuk." Qui-gon stepped next to her, motioning between her and the Wookiee. "Dark Woman, this is Chewbacca, son of Attichitcuk and leader of this raiding group."

Chewbacca inclined his head to the woman, who slowly nodded back. {I heard what you said, and remember the youngling from when he visited. We're more than capable of forming a rescue party to find him.}

Before she could reply, he'd turned to the group and began barking a few commands to finish with the gundarks quickly; getting his fellow Wookiees attention for a moment as he informed them that he before they howled back and began getting to work.

"A…rescue party?"

She was silently stunned by his words, trying to take them in as she looked at the Wookiee. Wookiees were a proud race, noble and loyal with the strength that many men wished to have. Yet after only meeting her padawan once, he was willing to take time from their duties on the planet to help them?

Turning to Qui-gon, she sighed heavily. "No, I believe that it'd be best if you continue with the settlement. I'll find him, and I'll bring him back."

Chewbacca seemed to think on this for a moment before sighing. {If you're not back by dawn, we're coming to find you.}

"Ah, but that is the trick isn't it?" She said with a wry smile. Turning to Qui-gon, she gave him a very pointed look. "And that's why I was sent here, after all. Go. Continue your part of the mission, and finish helping the Wookiees with their settlement. Naruto is my responsibility, and I _will_ find him."

Obi-wan glanced to his master curiously, also having a silent desire to help Naruto. He'd maintained a friendship with the boy on and off through their various missions, and had helped him on occasion as well. In return, Naruto had become something of an 'underground contact' within the temple, where he could learn about what was happening with some of the other masters, as well as get information for his next planet faster than Qui-gon could get it most times. The boy was like a younger brother at times, and a hellion at others, but he would not deny that he wanted to see his friend safe.

Qui-gon stared back at Kuro with a flat look for a moment before finally sighing. Walking over to her, he handed her a small chip. Seeing her confused look, he smiled softly. "Our comlink channel. I know you were told to do this with radio silence, but when you've found him…and completed your part of the mission, we'd like to hear that he's safe." Sighing softly as he wrapped her fingers around the chip, he chuckled softly. "May the Force be with you."

She looked between everyone in the clearing slowly, feeling like she was suddenly surrounded by strangers. All of these people, some she knew, many more she did not, cared about her student. Her padawan had done exactly what she'd warned against; made bonds with people. And yet something felt different about this. Something she hadn't thought of before, and perhaps something she'd overlooked.

Deciding she'd look into it further at another time, she nodded to them all and slipped the chip into her pocket. Moving to the cliffs edge, she simply continued walking until she walked off the cliff, gathering the Force within and around her as she bounced off the walls and made her way towards the river.

"…this time, I won't fail."

x-=-x

"Hands up!"

There are few things in the galaxy quite like reflexes. They come in all shapes and forms; from drawing a blaster, to catching a falling object, to walking. Some built them up with the specific purpose of fulfilling something at some later point in time. Others just had them happen over, and over, which resulted in reflexes that could occur at any point in time. For Naruto, one of these was when he'd begun being confronted by humanoid-droids.

"AH!" Naruto shouted as he threw his arm forwards. Using a very concentrated form of Force Push – often referred to as Force Burst – the Force energy was transmitted down the length of his arm and slammed violently into the droid's chest. The poor droid directly in front of him had no chance, its durasteel plating bending ever so slightly as it was lifted and propelled backwards into a nearby tree. The others right next to it were thrown over as well, with the furthest were propelled backwards

Naruto, not yet done, scrambled wildly to his feet and ran over to the droid. Gripping its head tightly, he yanked it as hard as he could. Often this would just pull at wires and mess with the functions of the droid, but B-1 battle droids were not built so securely. So, with a terrified and Force strengthened tug, the entire head of the droid was soon pulled out of its socket.

Falling over backwards, Naruto panted heavily as he rolled over and looked back to the droids. The two who'd fallen over were slowly getting up, while the other two had already gotten to their feet and were now aiming their blasters at him. "Uh oh."

Diving off to the side, he could almost _feel_ the blaster bolts striking where their fallen companion lay. Rushing into the thick of the woods, he flinched as the foliage seemed to fight against him as he raced deeper into cover. He could hear the clanking of the droids feet as they followed; though not that nimble, more than capable of barreling through after him.

Knowing that if it came to his stamina verses the droids, he'd win but get nowhere, he grit his teeth and tried to think. _"Okay, what do I know about droids? I know how to break them, have the basics on how to hack them and…uh…"_ Naruto slapped his face with a groan. _"Oh yeah, good idea Naruto. Learn everything about droids, except how to outsmart them."_

Rolling his eyes at his own thought, he dodged behind a tree as more blaster fire peppered the area where he'd been standing. Racing out from behind the tree, he flinched as he heard how close they'd gotten while following him. A new strategy was most _definitely_ needed.

Ducking behind another tree, he yelped as he heard more blaster fire. These droids were certainly not sent here to capture anyone, despite the rather 'kind' off they'd made for him to 'surrender'. Slamming his head into the tree behind him, he groaned as he heard the droids approaching. Upon doing so, he suddenly got a rather interesting idea.

Gathering the Force, he leapt straight up into the air and began climbing upwards into the trees. Finding a good spot, he gripped the wood in his hands and held himself as still as he could.

The droids were soon walking around the tree's base, heads and blasters darting back and forth as they sought him out. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"I dunno, I thought you had him."

"No, I thought you had him."

"Come on, he's gotta be around here somewhere."

Naruto stared down at the droids with wide eyes before he was forced to cover his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. The Neimoidians had created these? While they were armed with blasters, they were certainly less…threatening when they talked like that. He almost felt bad for the one whose head he'd ripped off.

Almost as soon as he thought this, he noticed that a couple of leaves had fallen to the ground and brushed against one of the droids photoreceptors. Before he or the other droids could move, its blaster aimed upwards and fired two shots.

"What was that?"

"I thought I heard something…" The droid said, eyes now aimed upwards as he scanned the treetops.

"Eh, you're imagining things. No one can climb that fast."

Slowly looking to where the droid had shot, close to the base of the tree and fairly far from where he was at, his expression deadpanned before looking down again. _"That was nowhere near me. How in the world are these things supposed to 'protect' the Neimoidians stuff?"_

Waiting for a moment, he stared down at them and waited for a moment before a thought occurred to him. If they were here, then there must be something here they were protecting. Which meant if he followed them, there was a chance he could find their base and be able to help solve who was behind the attacks.

He knew it wasn't a great idea, but he had a few less intelligent ideas that he could think of which might've been more entertaining but even less practical. One such idea was that they had come on STAP's – Single Trooper Aerial Platform's - which were part of the cargo that had been stolen, and that if he were sneaky enough, he might be able to steal one and use it to get through the forest even faster.

But really, what were the odds of that happening?

x-=-x

Chewbacca glanced to Qui-gon, cradling his bowcaster with a grunt as they finished dealing with the gundarks. There'd been eight gundarks in all, with three of them already dead when they'd rushed to help the Dark Woman. He'd seen many things from the Wookiees, from the galaxy, but even for him that was something that was astounding.

Gundarks were not pushovers at all. It had taken several shots to take them down, and that was from bowcasters which were much stronger than your average blaster riffle. And yet there they lay, seared flesh strewn about since she had found.

{Are all Jedi like this?} Chewbacca asked, glancing to Qui-gon. This man was meant to lead them in creating shelters, homes for the people who would one day live here. Was he too capable of such destruction?

Qui-gon seemed silent for a moment, which didn't help ease Chewbacca's nerves. However, when he spoke it was clear he was putting some thought into his words. "No, but then we all have something that sets us off. There's something within all of us, something that can give us great strength, or can cause us great pain."

Chewbacca thought about this silently, trying to find a parallel of something in the Wookiee culture that might be a parallel to this. Looking up to the sky, he placed a hand on his chest, recalling his time in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, and his Test of Ascension. {It's like a Wookiee's rrakktorr.}

Obi-wan glanced between them, getting a soft chuckle from Qui-gon. "That sounds about right. A Wookiee's rrakktorr, their inner strength, is something like a fire that one must learn to control. Too much of it and it burns out of control, too little and one will stumble and fall."

{So even Jedi fall?}

The silence between them was painful, and as he glanced to Qui-gon, he felt a little bit bad. It was clear that there was something he didn't know about which had happened to the man. Obi-wan seemed to sense it as well, though he seemed a bit more aware of what was going on. Biting his lip, Obi-wan decided to speak up.

"We do. I…I once left the order myself." That was unexpected to Chewbacca, who never would have thought that was possible. "I decided I wanted to join in a civil war on Melida/Daan, despite my master's words. I fought…and I won with them, but in the end it didn't work out the way I expected. I've had to struggle over the years to get the trust of the masters back, and it's…I know what it's like to fall."

Chewbacca nodded, sighing softly as he relaxed. {I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring you pain.}

"It's okay. At some point, we all have to face our demons." Qui-gon closed his eyes, his own demon coming rapidly to the forefront of his mind. "…and someday, we'll have to determine how we'll face it. How it will all end when you're through..."

Both Chewbacca and Obi-wan looked to Qui-gon curiously, neither of them knowing exactly what he meant by that. Obi-wan had a few ideas, but of them there were none he'd pin down as Qui-gon's 'demon'. The thought worried him, the idea of something that could drive his master to face something – anything really – that could bring him close to the dark side made his stomach churn.

Shaking his head, Qui-gon smiled sadly as he motioned towards where the other Wookiees were. "Come. We still have much to do, and it's best to do so while we still have some daylight left to us."

Obi-wan nodded, heading over to the Wookiees. Chewbacca on the other hand stared at the man silently, eyeing him carefully as he sighed and tried to shake off whatever it was his mind had conjured. Placing a hand on the man's shoulder, the two smiled softly, neither saying anything before they moved to help the Wookiees. There was a time for reminiscing, and a time for action. For now, they'd focus on what they could do, and hope that it was enough.

x-=-x

An'ya Kuro wasn't the greatest tracker, but when she put her head down and focused she was more than capable of doing whatsoever she pleased. As such, she had no qualms about going it alone to find Naruto. The Force was her guide, and it led her where she needed to go; though, as of late, she hadn't understood what it was guiding her towards.

Which was why as the sun stood high above her head, she stood in the middle of a clearing with wreckage strewn about, feeling confused and lost as she tried to understand why the Force had brought her here. She'd followed it from the river after she'd seen the wreckage of a droid placed against a tree with its head missing, likely Naruto's handiwork. While she's almost lost the trail after moving into the forest, she was able to follow the droids back to the clearing where she was now.

Standing completely still, she reached out with the Force, seeking answers to a question she hadn't even formed yet. The Force stood there, simply…lingered there, not moving forwards or backwards. As the Force always did, it continued its flow, but it didn't have the same feeling as it normally did where it pulled her towards where she needed to go.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and let out a small sigh as she moved towards one of the wrecks. If she wasn't supposed to leave this area, then there was something there. Whatever it was, she needed to find it, and she needed to know what it was.

Kneeling next to it, she tried to determine what it had been, eyes narrowed as she inspected it carefully. It was the wreckage of a STAP, with the mangled body of a droid still intertwined with it as though it had been blasted. Moving it to the side, she blinked as she noted that the STAP, despite the fact it was a mangled mess and the repulsorlift's were nonfunctional, the front portion of it was still in fairly good shape. The droid had likely absorbed a good part of whatever attack. Reaching into the device, she pulled open one of the bottom panels and looked inside.

If she were lucky, she'd be able to find the nav-computer in decent shape and that would allow her to track down where it had come from. Even if she didn't find where it was now, she'd be capable of doing so more than soon enough. And while she still needed to follow Naruto, but this wouldn't take more than a moment.

With a grin, she felt her hands wrap around something from behind the cables. Shifting slightly, she loosened the wiring connecting it, disconnecting it from the main power base.

"Hands up."

She poked her head out, staring at the droid that was standing over her. "I don't have time for this." Pulling the nav-computer out of it, she let her lightsaber snap into her hand as she cut through the droid and pushed herself to her feet. Cutting through the next ones that stepped up next with a wide Ataru sweep.

Letting her eyes dance back and forth, she put the nav-computer in her pack as she began moving towards where the foliage had been moved by someone who had been in a very clear hurry. And if she knew her apprentice, even a little, she'd guess it was him.

Stopping at the edge of the area, she glanced back with a raised brow as she considered what was there. "What in the world did you get into while I was gone?"

x-=-x

_Earlier_

"…okay then…" Naruto muttered as he followed the four droids back to their STAP's. "I did not see this coming, but hey I'm not complaining."

There were five in all, which meant that one of them had been meant for the droid he'd broken. They were single mounted, which meant that it was _very _unlikely that any of them had doubled up in transit, which meant that if he wanted one, here was where he'd get it.

Sneaking down from the trees where he'd been leaping through them to keep up with the droids without being seen, he frowned as he slipped into the foliage. Peeking out of them, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to think of what he could do to get away with stealing one of them.

Closing his eyes, he opened himself to the Force, letting his mind become free and uncluttered. All he had to do was follow the Force and –

_He ran, feeling the burning in his lungs despite everything in his body telling him it wasn't possible. He didn't need to breath, not like his creator. Feeling the connection turn his head, he followed it, knowing that no matter where he looked, his help would be beneficial to their work. As he began to turn his head again it was stopped as a sound was heard somewhere in the distance. A gundark? Or something else?_

_He stepped forwards, a gentle rustling of leaves caused his creator to have him look down. It was already too late; he'd already noticed that there were no leave under his feet. With a cry of pain, he felt the wall of a creature ram into him with incredible force, one hand pinning him down while the other arched up with a stone that was brought down –_

"No!" Naruto shouted, gripping his head as he tried to shove the after images out of his head. Breathing heavily, Naruto winced as he recalled the events again. "Stupid mind meld…I never should've followed that trick's advice." Pausing, and realizing he was talking _quite_ loudly, he slowly peaked out of the foliage again. "I shouldn't have done that."

The four remaining droids were now hustling to their STAP's, gunning the engines and racing towards his location. Darting to the side, he began running around the trees in an attempt to get to the final one. They'd most definitely outrun him now, and while he had plenty of other things at his disposal, he got the feeling that they didn't need much to kill him; just one wrong step.

Thankfully, he could take three steps at once. Throwing his arms outwards, he shouted, "Split up!"

Behind him, two more Naruto's sprang to life and darted either way, one deeper into the forest, the other into the clearing. The droids had just hit the forest's edge, and was looking back and forth between the three of them in confusion. One of them began pointing, shouting something at the others, and they split up. Two went after the one fleeing towards the center, one went into the forest, and one came after him.

"Okay, so divide and conquer. We've got this." Naruto said with a grin, eyes aimed forwards as he pushed himself as fast as he could go. He could hear the repulsorlift of the STAP approaching fast, but then in the forest, that was a bad idea.

Leaping to the side, he gripped a branch and pulled it back. Grunting in exertion, he held it in place for a second before letting it go to smack the STAP, and hopefully the droid on it as well. Turning, he didn't bother to check if it had, and instead focused on running to the remaining STAP.

His clone was almost there, surprisingly nimble as he dodged and weaved between the two's blaster fire. Despite their lack of aiming programming, they were at least competent not to shoot at one another and were able to force the clone back one step for every two he was able to gain. But with the gains winning, he was successfully getting to their destination.

Hearing the sound of a third repulsorlift, Naruto cursed under his breath. Of _course_ the branch trick wouldn't work when he needed it to. Pushing himself as fast as he could, he was soon forced to dive out of the way as the droid shot at where he was standing. Because of this though, the blaster bolts shot past him, and ended up hitting the STAP that was parked at the end of the clearing.

"Oops." The droid muttered, getting only a growl from Naruto. Having enough of the droid, he activated his lightsaber and leapt over the droid to cut it apart. "Uh oh."

Bisecting the poor droid, Naruto reached out to get onto the STAP, only to have one of the arms stuck on the throttle in full thrust. Naruto almost painfully whined when the STAP he'd been just about to steal zoomed into the trees, and resounding explosion clearly identifying its fate. "But…I wanted that…"

"Boss, move it!"

Naruto blinked, glancing to where the droids were. Both droids had ceased attacking his clone and were focusing on him, eyes having no real focus as they turned towards him.

"He's a Jedi! Kill him!" One of them shouted, firing rapidly at the poor boy who was forced to dodge or block as best as he could. From the tenacity of them though, Naruto got the feeling that he wasn't going to last very long.

Thankfully, his clone was watching out for him. Jumping onto one of them, he began hitting all manner of buttons in an attempt to throw him off. The droid went a bit wild, the blaster of the STAP swerving around as it tried to get him off of it. The droid on the other STAP stopped firing at him for a second, recognizing the threat that was the clone as he whipped around behind the two. Pulling the trigger, the clone barely had a second to return to the Force before the other droid and its STAP were blown apart under the fire of its fellow droid.

Panting heavily, Naruto quickly raced for the trees once more, trying to get away fast enough for him to find another tree he could jump up into or behind. Sadly, this one seemed just a tad bit more keen than his fellows had been, and was keeping pace just behind him as he ducked and dodged into the jungle.

"Die Jedi! Die!"

Naruto found his words ominous, and rather chilling. While he didn't want to think about it too much, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of programing the Neimoidians had given these droids, and how much was actually changed? What if this was this all a secret ploy to get the Jedi killed? Or at least, himself, his master, Qui-gon and Obi-wan. But why go so far just to kill the Jedi? And who did he know that was willing and wanting to kill the Jedi?

Turning another corner, he winced as he heard the repulsorlift gunning just behind him now. It was to close, _far_ too close and there was no way he was escaping this time. Eying a ditch in front of him, he gave a hopeful shout as he dove into it. As soon as he did so, he heard the sound of the STAP's blasters firing off his fatal rounds.

Right as he dove though, he also felt something in the Force. An odd, rather confusing feeling that was approaching at _very_ high speeds. As he heard the blasters fire, he heard the violent thrum of repulsors being gunned to their fullest, and the yelp of a droid as the blaster fire raised sharply upwards.

"Surprise metal head!"

The STAP was slammed into by another STAP, this one _not_ piloted by a droid. Naruto took a second to reach out, and couldn't help but grin as he felt his clone's smugness . "Man am I glad to see you."

"No time to talk," The clone said, blowing a raspberry at droid. "Come and get me clanker!"

Gunning his engines once more his clone took off with the droid right behind him. Naruto chuckled, watching them go before pausing. "Hey wait a minute DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!"

Getting no response, he decided instead to go in the opposite direction. This was getting ridiculous, and he was getting quite turned around.

Stopping at that though, he found his eyes slowly looking through the foliage; no sign of the valley, no sign of the river, no sign of the clearing to be seen. Nothing but wroshyr trees and the green foliage that littered the ground.

"…oh, Master Kuro is going to _kill_ me. I mean," Naruto glanced around, suddenly feeling a lot more vulnerable than he had a second before. "If the creatures here don't get to me first. Well then, this got bad fast…where am I?"

Glancing around, he began walking towards the mountains. Noticing something off to the side in the direction he was heading, he blinked owlishly as he continued to walk towards it. Upon seeing it, his eyes widened in confusion as he gawked at the sight.

It was completely overgrown, and the wroshyr trees intertwined in their roots and bodies almost appeared to crawl over the ruins of a large set of ruins. It was large, almost impossible to see unless you knew what you were looking for, and were it not for the fact he'd seen something like it before.

On Illum, when he'd gone into the ruins of the Jedi Temple where he'd found his lightsaber crystal.

Moving forwards slowly, he heard a faint crack from below him and flinched. Looking down, the tile beneath his foot sunk down into the ground. With a yelp, the ground gave way and he found himself falling.

* * *

><p>AN: I love when I search for things about areas, and then when I see something cool <em>no one has done anything with it<em>. As such, next chapter I get to have a little bit of fun with it (if you don't know what 'it' is, look up Alaris Prime on Wookiepedia).

So until next time, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness**. Take care everyone!


	24. Chapter 24

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>There was a soft whir of machinery near the base of the mountain as the miners continued their work. Each had been programmed in their work to move as quickly as they could, burrowing as quickly as they could for the richest veins. Time was of the essence, and with the arrival of more beings on the planet, that time was running out even faster now.<p>

Running a gloved hand across the bulk of their ship, the shadowed figure sighed in content. The vast majority of the ore and crystals that could be found in this particular quadrant had been dug up, though there were bound to be more deeper in. They'd left some scattered within, simply because efficiency was sacrificed for speed. Still, with this large sum brought in over the last few years, there would finally be enough.

"We have located an intruder near the premises."

The figure stopped, hand clenching slightly before slowly relaxing as they turned to the droid. While their own mining droids were efficient, the battle droids left much to be desired. Still, if they'd actually found someone, and not another thrice damned gundark, perhaps they'd be of use still. "Report."

"We've monitored the gundark nest as requested to prevent them from approaching the core as requested. As such, we were able to witness a pack of Wookiees who ambushed and killed them. They were assisted by several other beings who wielded lightsabers. Also, a group of our STAP scouts were reported missing and destroyed, and the messenger who delivered the message was also cut down shortly thereafter."

"…lightsabers?"

"Affirmative."

There was a small tug at their lips as they completely relaxed at this information. "How very, very interesting. And have your scouts brought up anything in the western sector?"

"We have not yet found it, but our troops will continue the search."

"No need." Patting the ship, the figure sighed and turned to the droid with a malicious grin. "If the Jedi are here already, then we'll be moving out soon enough. However, if the Wookiees are also here, we should give them a…warm welcome for their new home."

"Roger, roger." The battle droid said, giving a salute as it awaited the next orders.

Pulling out a map, the figure looked over the information that the droids had mapped out with a silently hum of thought. Going through it, they enlarged one of the sectors, filled with wroshyr trees and foliage which had been quite unfruitful for their exploits. "Quadrant W-twenty-two is a very nice looking region isn't it?"

"…I beg your pardon?" The battle droid asked, not understanding what he said.

"I said, W-twenty-two looks nice, doesn't it?" The figure slowly looked up to the battle droid, piercing eyes with a raging inferno of his dark thoughts which seemed to float behind his gaze as he coldly addressed the droid. "It's useless to our needs. Go, send a squad of droids, and…burn it down. I want to see the flames rising by sundown and not a moment later."

"Roger, roger." Turning on its heels, it began calling for several other battle droids to head towards that area. It was unwise to keep their commander waiting.

Moving to the mines, the figure sighed as they began preparing to recall all the droids to leave the planet as soon as they could get airborne. It was a shame they wouldn't fulfill their secondary mission, but then with what they'd gotten so far, it wasn't that big a deal.

While moving past another pair of droids, they paused and grabbed one of them. "Go get me a visual on the Jedi who've come here."

"Roger, roger."

Closing their eyes, they took a deep breath. Soon. Just a little bit longer and their revenge would finally be complete.

x-=-x

Naruto was many things in life. One of the ones that few people truly could understand was how lucky he could be. Of course, in the experience of the Jedi there was no such thing as luck. And yet, even with a connection to the Force, Naruto still found times where there was no guidance or promptings from the Force where _something_ would happen.

Call it luck, call it the Force, but as he slowly woke up and found himself hanging in the air by the remains of some sort of chandelier, he decided that not being dead was a good start.

Wincing, Naruto slowly curled up to where his leg was caught in one of the chains that kept the chandelier to the ceiling. Right next to where it hung was a Naruto sized hole in the ground where he'd fallen through. Despite the fact it was holding him up right now, he could hear the strain of metal, and see the rust on it. It wouldn't hold for much longer, and he needed to get down.

Looking to the floor, he grimaced as he realized it was still a ways away, and trying to get down normally could end up with him finishing his fall in a very painful manner. Still, there was one advantage he had; the light from his hole illuminated just a bit of the room, giving him a chance to see that the room was quite expansive, and that off to the side was a balcony of some sort.

Reaching out with the Force, he focused on one of the areas and began calling the Force to create a doppelganger. Due to the pain, his concentration was a bit off, but it didn't take to long for it to form.

Shaking its head, it looked around curiously before shouting up to its creator. "It's dark as hell over here boss!"

"Yeah…kinda noticed…" Naruto muttered. Closing his eyes, he flinched at the pain in his leg as he slowly reached up to try and unwrap it from the chain.

"Uh, boss?" The clone grimaced, reaching out towards him as he used the Force to help keep Naruto stable. "I can kinda feel that, and it's starting to feel like a really bad itch."

"I know the feeling, but it's a bit more painful than an itch." Naruto replied, pausing to take a deep breath as another shot of pain ran down his leg. Pulling roughly on the chain, he flinched as he heard a loud cracking from above him. "…no…Force please…"

As he said this, a small section of the ceiling came apart, dropping the chandelier and Naruto plummeting to the ground. Were it not for his clone's quick reaction, he likely would have ended up further broken on the floor. Instead, he was caught and held in place in midair, wincing as the chandelier slammed into the ground just a few feet below him. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten to the end of the chain, otherwise it would have caused him more pain in his leg.

Feeling himself suddenly shift, he sighed as his clone helped maneuver away from the crash site and gently laid him down. Glancing over to it, the clone jumped the railing and raced over to him, helping him get his leg untangled much faster than he would have been able to do alone.

"Man, that was close." The clone muttered, looking from Naruto to the chandelier.

"Yeah," Naruto said with a grin as he clasped his hand on his shoulder. "But I knew you'd come through for me. I always come through after all."

The clone grinned and punched his fist in the air. "Of course we do! We're Naruto Uzumaki after all!"

Despite their bright grins, Naruto knew it was basically him talking to himself. With a reluctant sigh, he shifted and winced as he brought his leg towards the clone. "Can you check it? I…well, hopefully it's just a sprain. Breaking bones always sounded like it's really annoying."

"Of course." The clone moved behind him, dragging him back a bit so that he'd be in the light. Moving back to his leg, it inspected it gently. Despite the flinches whenever Naruto hissed in pain, it was soon able to finish its 'diagnosis.' "Well, I'm no healer, but it doesn't seem to be broken. It…could be fractured though, so we'll probably want to keep your weight off it until we see an actual doctor." He held up a finger, his face a mirror image of his creator's. "Hopefully not a droid."

"Hopefully is not a promise." Naruto whined, knowing full and well that with his luck he'd end up with a droid looking him over. Recalling the droid he'd blasted away not too long ago, he chuckled. "Well, at least now we know that I can hurt them with the Force…so that's a plus."

The clone nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, that was so awesome! One day we'll need to do that again, only break it all at once so that we can hit the next ones faster and keep them from shooting at us."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I've already been looking into that. I'm bad with subtle mind trick-type things, and disabling a droid only means that it'll leave me alone." Shaking his fist at the air, he shouted. "I will not be deterred from my knowledge that droids are _evil! _Evil I say!"

There was an echo that reverberated through the room, the expanse and emptiness of it all seeming to weigh down on the two as they blinked and looked around. Seeing nothing but each other, the clone raised a finger as he added, "Except Artoo."

Naruto paused at that before nodding. "Except Artoo, he's got my seal of approval."

Remembering the little astro droid made the two sigh, missing the mischievous little droid that had saved his life. Drawing themselves back to the present, they both looked around slowly as they finally began taking stock of their surroundings.

"So…" The clone asked after a moment, feeling as lost and confused as his creator. "Where do you think we are?"

Naruto gave the clone a flat stare before shaking his head. "How should I know? We were walking through the forest, I saw _something_ and then I…" Naruto looked up to the ceiling, "Fell…" Narrowing his eyes, he painstakingly tried to remember what he'd seen. After the fall, his mind felt rather jumbled up, and the pain wasn't helping matters much. After a moment though, a grin slowly crossed his face. "It's a temple, like the one on Illum, but…it's overgrown with wroshyr trees and stuff, so I almost missed it."

"A temple? You mean a Jedi temple?" The clone tilted his head curiously, looking back up to the hole above them. "But, there's not a temple on Alaris Prime. Alaris Prime wasn't even found till twenty years ago."

"Maybe…someone lost it?" Naruto found himself blinking at that before rolling his eyes. "Okay, even that sounds stupid. I mean, how do you just _lose_ a planet let alone a Jedi temple?"

"They could've been attacked and just…never came back?" the clone shrugged. "There's no record of it in the Jedi temple, so maybe it's someone else's. That…just so happens to look like a Jedi temple."

"…right."

Growling at how much of a headache this place was giving him, Naruto shook his head and tried to straighten out his thoughts. Even if this _wasn't_ a Jedi temple, if it was built like one then that meant that they were on one of the lower levels, and that there would be some kind of stairwell or repulsorlift that could bring him back to the surface.

"Want me to give you a boost?" The clone asked, pointing upwards.

He considered it for a moment, reminded of the fact that his clone _could_ lift him with the Force, and realizing that it was a viable option. Looking around though, he felt the flames of his curiosity igniting brightly as he looked around. The structure was so…old, and had signs of aging. No one had been here in a long time, and the idea that he was the first person to come down here – or fall as the case may be – was exciting. Trying to pull himself to his feet, his clone quickly stood to help him, making sure he didn't put weight on his injured leg.

"Maybe when we're done looking around." Naruto muttered, eying the structure of the building as he looked for door. Seeing one, he grinned and motioned to it. "Want to join me in a little adventure?"

"I'd love to!" the clone said exuberantly. Before he moved though, he looked around the room with a nervous chuckle. "Um, but how will we get back if we're both going in?"

As he spoke, a second clone formed in front of them. The clone blinked as he took in his new surrounding with a grin, and waved to them. "Hi guys."

The first clone blinked for a second, before realizing that they could feel the second clone's presence in the Force. "Oh, that'd work."

"I know right? The boss in is a genius." The second clone said, shadowboxing the air. "Don't worry about me, I'll just do some alchaka to keep myself as connected as possible!"

"Um, why don't you meditate?" Naruto asked after a moment, remembering the last time he'd tried to do alchaka with clones. It had _seemed_ like a good idea at the time, but then when you can feel the exhaustion in several clones as you yourself are becoming exhausted, you eventually find yourself and all the clones face flat on the ground and unable to move for a while.

"Aw~ but!" The clone tried to say, but blinked when he stepped forwards as he felt the slight 'echo' of pain from Naruto. "Oh, right. Um, yeah I…I can try that. Or lightsaber forms, something simple, you know?" He scratched the back of his head, looking sheepishly at them. "Sorry, I guess I got too caught up in our excitement of this place and forgot."

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said, giving the clone a thumb's up. "We're counting on you!"

The second clone saluted, grinning from ear to ear. "I won't let you down!"

Naruto and his clone nodded, returning the salute before Naruto leaned against the clone and they made their way into the temple.

x-=-x

The forest seemed thicker than she normally felt it was, and she had to stop at several points to take a deep breath and relax. Allowing the forest to flow around her, to almost flow _through_ her like the Force, was surprisingly becoming somewhat difficult as her mind began wandering once more.

An'ya Kuro was used to feeling emotions. Following the Force allowed her a sense of directing them, and allowing it to placate her as needed. But in this moment, the whenever she attempted to use Farsight, she'd receive two visions rather than one.

It was not common for a Jedi to receive such visions from the Force. More often than not, the Force would show a person of things to come, and while on occasion they could stop it, many times they were given glimpses of things beyond their lifetime, things that would happen due to their actions. But two, separate yet distinct visions that came from clearly made actions, were not.

And yet each time she sought out guidance from the Force since she'd begun her mission to Naboo she'd felt those second options brushing against her. The first few were clear and concise, but some were less so. Some were vague impressions that she could go in two separate ways, and each would give her a result, but neither said which one was the result she desired more.

Coming to another stop, she shook her head. Perhaps it was because of how she was following the Force, and not taking command of it? No, that wasn't it. To take command, to direct it to her pleasure rather than to the will of the Force was the path to the dark side. While she did vary on how far past the normal Jedi she'd gone, the dark side was _not_ the path she'd chosen to take. Still, the option floated there, almost like it was offering itself to her.

She suddenly froze up, eyes wide as she felt her breath coming in short gasps. No. That couldn't be.

Turning to look around widely, she had to restrain herself from letting her presence in the Force burst outwards in an attempt to seek it out, knowing full and well that should she do so she'd worry her fellow Jedi and alert whoever, or whatever, was on this world. Still, she allowed her senses to sharpen, and soon found herself gritting her teeth in annoyance.

The dark side was on this world. It was faint, growing slowly from somewhere, but it _was_ there. And from her proximity, it appeared that it was attempting to influence her as well, seeking her out, trying to draw her in.

She snorted at that, a hollow laugh slipping past her lips. "So, you think that you can drag me down into the shadows do you? I'm the Dark Woman. I am no Lady of the Sith, or dark Jedi for you to corrupt."

For a moment she felt a sense of silence in the Force, as though some entity were considering her words. Then, a dark, hollow laughter filled her ears. Like the grating of nails on a chalkboard it seemed to drag alongside the Force, bringing with it a sense of pain and a feeling of loss.

Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind of all distractions, letting only the Force – the _real_ Force – guide her. Fully drawn into it, she could feel the presence of her student at last, though she quickly found herself frowning as she felt _three _of him, rather than simply one. Determining that she'd figure it out soon enough, she began making her way deeper into the forest.

As she got closer though, she froze and lowered herself with a curse. Almost missed due to their lacking a signature in the Force, a small group of droids marched passed her, not seeing her as they moved onto some other location. Once more she found herself debating between following them and getting to Naruto, but felt the Force leaning neither one way nor the other. While she knew that each had its consequence, she felt that leaving her student again after all that had happened during their separation on Naboo was simply bad teaching. While she was confident in him, and in his abilities, he was young, and learning, and would still require much more tutelage before she was free to allow him to wander off on his own like this.

Still, as she watched the droids marching deeper into the forest, she couldn't help the feeling of trepidation as she let them go. What were they marching towards? Were they not so close to where she felt Naruto she'd have done something to intercept them, and to keep them from marching onwards. Trusting that the Force would help guide things where they needed to be, she continued on her way.

Climbing a tree, she found herself blinking as she felt his presence growing stronger near a highly clustered group of trees growing from a hillside. Not questioning it for the moment, she made her way over to it and climbed it, looking over everything as she sought out his presence.

Soon she found herself looking around in confusion. His presence was here, yet she could see no sign of him. Looking down, she noticed that far below her was a small hole in the ground, with dirt and grass around it displaced. Shaking her head, she looked around for a safe way down before hopping to several stones which jutted out, using them in succession to get back to ground level.

It surprised her when her feet touched the ground that it felt solid, more firm than gravel. Pausing, she let her fingers brush against it and was surprised to find the dirt brush away to reveal some kind of granite beneath it. Not certain what it was, and not yet at a point where she could allow herself to be distracted by such things, she moved towards the hole.

Peaking her head into it, she called the Force to her eyes to allow her some sense of dark vision to see everything down in the depths. Despite being surprised to find that the room was quite a bit larger than she'd thought, she sighed in relief as she saw her student meditating in one of the corners. "Naruto."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, looking up in surprise. Jumping to his feet, he grinned brightly as he waved to her exuberantly. "Master Kuro! Look, we found a temple!"

"What?"

Naruto waved his arms in a 'come here' motion, looking more and more excited by her presence. "Come on down, I'll show you!"

Looking around, she sighed as she realized that there was no way _out_ of the hole. While she was a Jedi Master, she knew that a Force Jump, though possible to get back up, might run the chance of missing. Reaching out with the Force, she instead drew in some of the foliage – several vines in particular – and quickly drew them over to her. Wrapping one end around a sturdy wroshyr tree, she dropped the other down into the hole before climbing down.

As she reach the bottom, she was glad she hadn't just jumped down when she saw the chandelier that had fallen beneath her. Naruto, upon realizing that the spot where she was landing was unsafe, quickly used the Force to push it out from under her. Laughing softly at his thoughtfulness, she dropped down and landed in a crouch, looking around the inside area.

Naruto grinned brightly as he motioned around to her, "Master Kuro, welcome to a lost Jedi temple! Found by, me!"

Giving Naruto a very amused look, she turned to inspect the room carefully before jumping to any conclusions. Shortly after doing so though, she found herself frowning as what he said seemed to look more and more plausible. While the structure was different than that of Illum or Coruscant, there was similar architecture – though more so to the Jedi temple of Illum than of the more open spaced designs of the one on Coruscant. And the feeling of the Force, though a bit buried beneath the age and lack of people here, remained as plentiful as ever within the walls. "By the Force…"

"Yeah, the boss went in deeper with a clone, but I can let him know you're here."

The words took a moment to sink in. Slowly, with a very upset look on her face, she crossed her arms and looked to him. "Naruto. What do you mean, the boss and a clone?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, not yet realizing he was in trouble. "Yeah, the boss. You know, my…creator? I'm a Force Clone."

Kuro just stared at the clone for a long, quiet moment. Then her expression dropped, shifting from exasperation one second to bemusement another. "You never cease to catch me off guard do you Naruto?"

"Nope!" The clone said, grinning from ear to ear. Hesitating, he slowly raised a finger curiously. "And, how did we catch you off guard before?"

"Never mind that. Where is Naruto…the _real_ Naruto?" She said with a shake of her head. The idea of a Jedi, a child at that, using a technique as advanced as a Force Clone with such precision and talent to mislead her senses was remarkable, but it also made her wonder what he'd had to miss out on to devote his time to learning it.

"He went that way." The clone said, pointing to one of the passageways. "He…" Before the clone finished, his eyes glossed over. Taking a deep breath, it stretched out with the Force, reaching out to its creator. "…he's going down."

"Down?" Her eyes widened slightly at that. "Why in the world would he be going _down?"_

"Um…" The clone's face shown with embarrassment and amusement. "Well, the clone he made with him kept saying that he didn't think that this was a real Jedi temple, and Naruto got frustrated and asked how he could prove it. Apparently the clone thought that the only way to prove it would be to find either the Jedi Archives, or the vault."

"…and both of those would be below here, if the building's structure is the same." She muttered, realizing that Naruto had made a difficult job even more so now that he was delving deeper into it. "And I suppose he left you here with some sort of purpose?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! I'm supposed to be how he finds his way back when he's done." The clone said proudly.

An'ya had to pause as she thought about that. If he was right, then that mean she _had_ felt multiple Naruto's in the Force, and that the two Naruto's together were him and his clone. Glancing to the one standing before her, and feeling his presence as well, she pressed her lips together in a tight line as she thought about that. "That's…not a bad idea at all."

"I know right? The boss is pretty smart, when he wants to be." The clone rolled his eyes. "I mean, he didn't really think to leave me here in case someone found us, so this is just…a happy coincidence?"

"There are no coincidences." An'ya said softly, moving towards where her student had left towards. "There is only the will of the Force."

x-=-x

"Hey, what do you think this is?"

"I dunno."

A trio of OOM-series battle droids – predecessors to the B-1's – moved toward the clearing, seeing a few things off from the last time they'd been in the area. For one, there was a hole in the ground, where they knew there had clearly not been one before. The second was that there was a vine tied to a tree that went down into the hole.

Unlike their later counterparts, the OOM-series had more advanced and independent programming. While the B-1's were becoming popular for their ability to simply swarm opponents due to the simplicity of their making, the OOM's were more curious, more capable, and in many ways were more dangerous as they possess some indication that they learned from what they encountered.

"Think someone's down there?" One of the droids asked, somewhat worriedly. Last time one of the droids had asked something like that, the group had ended up in a group of gundarks and had been torn apart before they could rally together and take them out.

"Maybe." Another said, looking a bit skeptical.

"Do you think gundarks learned how to make tools?" The first droid asked, seeming almost hesitant. The gundark had torn through one of their ranks rather quickly before a squad had been chosen to go in to clear one of the nests out.

"…I don't know." The second said, also pausing as he thought about the consequences of going down into the hole now.

Looking at one another, they all seemed to question the decision to go further. After several seconds one of them – a droid with yellow markings and several battle marks on it that indicated it was a command droid had been one of those who'd returned from fighting the gundarks – pushed them aside.

"I've got this." The droid said, aiming his blaster at the vine. Shooting twice, it blew the vine off the wroshyr tree and watched as it was dragged down the hole. "There, now whoever's in there won't be able to escape, gundark or not."

"Good plan." The two droids said, nodding to the third in acknowledgement of his ingenious plan.

"Of course it is." The third said, slapping its chest heartily. "You've got to learn to think outside the box when fighting wild animals, otherwise you'll just be regular battle droids for the rest of your lives."

The two looked at each other, seeming curious and confused by his words. "Are you not a battle droid anymore?"

"No, I'm a gundark battle droid." It said, slapping its arm against its chest again. "I've gone into vicious battle and come out stronger. I'm one of those who will be the next step in a generation of battle droids!"

"Ooh~" the two said in awe, though neither could see any difference in him now that he was 'more than a battle droid' besides his strange personality shift. Judging by the slight dent in its cranium and chest, it was all to possible that its core had been either damaged or shorted out in some way that changed it just a bit.

"So, what now?" The first droid asked, glancing between his fellow droids and the hole. "Do we tell the boss about this?"

"About a random gundark that decided it wanted to go down a hole? Nah, you'd just end up scrapped like the last droid to give them bad news." The second droid said, all three of them shaking their heads at the memory of the poor sap that'd been so foolish.

"Well then, enough reminiscing, it's time to go. We've got a whole quadrant to cover, and not enough time to finish it in." The third droid motioned to the others, all three of them moving past the hole in the ground without a second thought. None of them bothered with the temple nearby, none of them processing that it _was _something more than a hill with wroshyr trees on it.

Below them, gripping his lightsaber tightly despite knowing that it was of no use since it wasn't the original, Naruto's clone sighed. He'd heard them talking as well as the blaster fire, and had been worried that they might decide to check and see what was in the hole.

Leaning back against the cold stone behind him, he laughed softly. "Oh man, thank goodness battle droids are dumb. But…wait…" Blinking slowly, he sat cross legged and hummed in thought. "Why are they patrolling the forest in the first place? I mean…are they looking for something?"

Closing his eyes with a shrug, he decided to meditate on it, and see if the Force had anything to say. After all, he had nothing but time, and he planned to make the most of it while he could.

* * *

><p>AN: Ah, nice and another chapter.<p>

I'm still amazed that there are people who insist that I made An'ya Kuro. I'd be pleased with the idea, if it weren't for the fact that she _isn't_ my OC. She's someone who was in the extended universe already, and though she isn't classified as one from how she's described I'd classify her as Grey Jedi. That being said, she's been a _ton_ of fun so far, and things will get…well, let's just say I'm going to continue to have fun later on.

Now, for the one Q&A thing that I missed last chapter.

**Juoppo**: First off I am _so_ sorry that I didn't answer this last chapter! To answer your question, Force Clones are _not_ meant to be used in battle. Whatever the clone feels the user would feel also and vice versa. However, that being said, in my last chapter (and in this one two) I mentioned that Naruto was using Mind Meld to coordinate his clones while they were scouting. Now, this would be fine normally, but then Naruto has never done this outside of the Temple before. This is his first "field test" of the clones besides his fight in the depths of Illum. As such, it still has some quirks to work out. They will be worked out for later, but for now, he's still got to _find_ the bugs in it if he wants to fix them.

Thank you all so much for reading, and until next chapter, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness.**


	25. Chapter 25

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Naruto held his lightsaber in front of himself and his clone as they slowly looked around the hallway. In the darkness, it felt like the orange glow was like the illumination of the sun that was falling upon ancient halls that had longed for such a light. As their footsteps echoed the halls, they seemed to follow a silent beat that brought a jubilance that filled halls that would otherwise be dreary. The Force was here, and it was alive.<p>

Both of them had been in awe as they'd gone deeper into the temple, the clone guiding him to one side upon seeing one thing, and Naruto pulling them to the other. The only reason they hadn't shoved their heads into each and every area of the temple was due to Naruto's ankle. Still, they made good progress, and they mentally mapped out the temple in their minds, finding many similarities between the one on Coruscant.

However, "I still say that there's no way this thing is like the one on Illum."

Naruto was forced to groan as his clone remained as the voice of skepticism. While he himself wasn't sure if it was or was not a Jedi temple, the more he heard his own voice trying to say that it wasn't, the more he became convinced that it _was._ "Well, when we get down to the Archives, then we'll see."

His clone huffed, but both of them quickly laughing softly. It was a strange thing to think that he was arguing with himself, but then he supposed it was normal at the same time. Hearing it outside his head though, wasn't so much.

After making their way a bit further, as they turned to where his mind insisted the archives would be, they froze as they stared at the opening. Just past the entrance, the room had caved in, giving in to the pressure of the forest overhead and had filled it with spikes of dirt and stone. Any remnant of the room they were looking for to confirm whether or not this was a Jedi Temple was buried in rocks and shadows, and it was likely that if there had been anything in the room it had been crushed when the ceiling collapsed.

Glancing to each other, the two of them groaned and slapped their faces in unison. This was a very unfortunate turn of events, and it was the last thing the curious youngling wanted to see. Now, without this room, they'd have a far, _far_ more troublesome journey deeper into the temple to sate their curiosity.

They'd have to travel down to the _other_ Holocron Vault.

In the temple of Coruscant, in the back of the Jedi Archives, was a Holocron Vault. While the layout of the building could be considered similar to those made by any other, the Holocrons were something that would definitively prove that this building was made by the Jedi. With the Archives impassable – and if of Jedi origin then there was a lot of information lost to them – then that left one thing; the Tower of First Knowledge.

Granted, Naruto didn't really know _where_ the archive was at, but if it was in the area where there Tower of First Knowledge was then he could search around. Of course, it was likely hidden by masters who were far more careful and capable than he was at the moment. Looking to each other, he and the clone let their heads fall as they sighed.

"We're gonna be here forever." Naruto muttered, getting a supportive pat on the back from his clone.

"There, there. It'll be okay." The clone said, forcing a smile. "I'm sure the makers from whenever this place was built had padawans in mind when they made it."

Naruto rolled his eyes." Yes, of _course_ they did. Ugh! This is annoying."

The clone bit his lip, glancing back the way they came before turning back to Naruto. "Um…hey boss? Why do we need to find this again?"

The question got him to pause. Why _did _he feel this way? Leaning back, he stared down the hallway with a far off look. For a brief second, he swore that he could hear…singing. "I don't know."

"But we're going to keep going anyway, right?"

"Of course."

"Oh good." The clone grinned, gripping Naruto's shoulder supportively. "I was worried it was just me getting that feeling!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at that, patting his clone's shoulder back as well. "Yeah well, let's get going, okay?"

Nodding to each other, they grinned as they began making navigating their way towards the center area. His mind – it was clear to them that both of them were thinking the same thing as it was – told him that he needed to find something here. There was something important, and it was going to haunt him if he didn't find it.

As he continued though, he felt himself frowning as he tried to understand something that seemed to be scratching at the back of his mind. It was a question that he'd had for a while now, though it didn't seem to have as much precedence lately so he'd put it out of his mind till now.

What was the Force planning? He'd gone through the events of his life when he'd realized that there was a part of his life 'missing'. Looking back, trying to find where things had shifted, and in doing so he'd found that there were things that didn't make sense in his mind. Things that, when he'd reviewed them with the Force, he couldn't figure out the reasoning for it.

The first thing he'd found strange was his life before the temple. Despite looking back at it, focusing and sharpening it until he could see things clearly, he couldn't understand it. People's eyes, their treatment of him, even the feeling of the Force on the world was off. And yet despite all of this, the Force had somehow reached out and called An'ya Kuro to him and from there lead him off world where he was surrounded by Jedi, who were then able to train him in the ways of the Force.

Then, when he'd thought back to Naboo, he'd had to shake his head due to how perplexed he felt. How? How had he found what he'd found so quickly? How had he survived being attacked by Bruck?

And now he was crawling around in the depths of Alaris Prime, in a forgotten temple that had possibly belonged to the Jedi at some point. It made _no_ sense to him, and yet it simply was. His master spoke of the will of the Force, the power which bound and coaxed the universe, helping all those who could feel it. And yet…

"Hey boss."

Naruto glanced up, immediately noting the hallway split into two paths. Holding his lightsaber high, he tried to make out what was down each of the hallway, though without much success. "Um…well then."

"Which way do we go?" The clone asked, his own eyes barely accustomed to the dark. Even if they were, they wouldn't have seen anything of value from their position.

"I don't know…" Naruto said softly. Before he said anything eyes, his jaw snapped shut and his eyes widened. Snapping his head to his clone, he saw a similar look on the face of his clone. "Did you just hear…?"

"Yeah, did you?" The clone asked, his eyes staring down the left hallway.

"Yeah. I mean, unless you heard something other than singing?" Seeing the clone shake his head, the two of them began making their way down the left hallway towards the sound.

x-=-x

With each pair of hallways they reached, the song continued to build in volume; no words, only a tune that resonated through the halls. It took them quite a while before they reached the source, walking past many old security measures that had long since been disabled by time, and by the time they had they were tired, and both of them collapsed in front of the steel doors of the vault.

Taking a few slow deep breaths, they looked at each other with a shaky smile. The clone shook his head, laughing lightly. "Sorry boss…I'm not gonna last too long…"

"It's okay." Naruto muttered, closing his eyes as he tried to focus. "I can keep you around…I can…"

"Don't worry boss…it's all good." The clone said with a sigh. "Just…make sure we can find our way out, okay?"

"Okay, I can do that." Naruto nodded slowly feeling his clone's exhaustion and strength added to his own. Slowly opening his eyes, he shifted in place and pushed himself upright. His lightsaber was set to the lowest setting to illuminate while they'd been walking. Now that he was in front of the vault, he increased the power being charged into the blade. "Alright, let's see if I can prove that I was right."

Looking over the mechanism, he frowned when he realized that despite the aging, it was in feasibly good shape, enough so that he couldn't just push on them and expect them to fall over. However it was also not so good that a good lightsaber wouldn't be able to cut through it. Grinning, he stepped forwards and stabbed his lightsaber into the door.

After a couple of seconds, Naruto blinked as his lightsaber suddenly shorted out, and he stumbled forwards. Barely catching himself before his head slammed into the vault, he blinked as he tried to adjust to total darkness. "Um…"

Reactivating his lightsaber, he froze when he heard only a fizzing noise. Looking down to where he could feel his hand, he winced as he realized that it hadn't activated. Pushing the button again, and again, he was left with no light and a lightsaber that wasn't working. Reaching out his hand to the vault, he brushed his hand against it as he tried to find where he stabbed it, only to find no marks on it.

"What kind of metal is this? I…no way. What in the world kind of door is this?" Naruto asked, slamming a hand against it. "Oh _come on!_ This is so…"

Resting his head against the cool metal, he muttered and cursed under his breath, trying to think of anything that could block a lightsaber. Since it wasn't something that he'd ever even considered, nothing came to mind and he was left in the dark. Leaning back against it, he groaned and shook his head. It was dark, he was alone, and he suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"_Hey, what about the Force?"_

Naruto blinked at that thought, but slowly smiled at that. It was true now that the thought about it. The Force was always with him, flowed through him, and was never cut off from him. Closing his eyes, he hummed softly to the tune he was hearing, letting the Force flow through him.

"_Um…hello? On the door. Use the Force on the _door._"_

Naruto's eyes snapped open, eyes wide as he tried to look around, scrambling back into the wall. "What? Who?"

"_Boss it's me, relax."_

"…why the hell did you have to startle me?" Naruto hissed, grabbing his head with a groan. He'd forgotten about his clone back at the front, and hearing it in his head had startled him. Blinking before realizing that doing so was pointless, he groaned. "How do you know about the door anyways?"

"_Well, I don't have anything better to do with my time, so I decided to see what you were up to."_ The clone replied. Naruto could feel the clone shrug and grinned, wondering if he looked as funny as that felt. _"…so?"_

"What?"

"_What about the door? I wanna know what's behind it!"_

Naruto leaned back and laughed at that. Even his clones were curious about what was going on, and hearing how eager 'he' was feeling was hilarious. "Okay, okay I'll try it."

Rolling over he placed his hands against the cold steel of the door and sighed. Opening himself up to the Force to deepen his connection to it, he let it reach out to it to see if he could find out how to open the door.

Within the door, he could feel a series of gears and cogs which likely opened the doors. In the center of the door, there were some strange locks. There was no way to open it from the outside, and it took a second before he realized that there was truly only one way that this door could be opened; through the Force.

Grinning widely, he began fiddling with the lock. It took a bit of work, as he was unfamiliar with the inner workings of the mechanism, and part of the problem was how rusty the gears were. Struggling as he maneuvered them slowly into place, he could hear each and every click of the gears moving into place. Gritting his teeth, he paused as the Force suddenly let go of the gears. Stepping backward, his eyes narrowed as he tried to see the door.

"…this is getting stupid." Naruto muttered, crossing his arms with a pout. Rearing back, he kicked the door in frustration, only to have his entire body seize up from the pain as he slowly drew up his leg. "Owowow."

Despite his wincing, he was still able to hear the loud grinding of the gears as they began moving within the door. Like an ancient behemoth, the door fought the rust that held the door in place for thousands of years. With a loud crack from the door, it screeched backward a few feet before grinding to a stop.

Looking up to the door, Naruto stared at it silently for a moment before groaning. "Oh come on, why can't it be easy?"

Despite what he said, there was a very faint light that was emanating from the door. Shuffling forward slowly, he realized that despite the fact that the door had screeched to a stop, there was still just enough room for him to squeeze through. Albeit it was a tight squeeze, and he could feel the rusted edge of the door scrapping past him dangerously close to breaking the skin as he finally slipped into the room.

Stumbling forwards, Naruto winced as he coughed from the stale air in the room. This room hadn't been opened in forever it seemed, and despite the light, now that he was in the room he was able to see that it wasn't because of any break in the ceiling filtering light, but rather from the many holocrons that were still locked away in the room.

Naruto stared at everything silently, slowly looking around as he took in everything. The room felt massive, and from the look of it there were dozens of holocrons. While the lights were faint due to the time that they'd spent here, due to their inactivity it seemed like they were all still good, although there was a possibility that some hadn't lasted as long as the others.

Frowning at that, he slowly stood up straight and looked around. The idea that someone had forgotten this place, had forgotten all this knowledge and left it here, was a very sad thought. Shaking his head, he move towards the nearest holocron and picked it up. Hesitantly, he reached out with the Force to activate it, hoping it would work. After a couple seconds, the holocron seemed to be opening, only to short out and die in his hand.

"Aw, that one was probably super awesome too." Naruto muttered, slowly putting it back into place. Moving down the line, he let his hands brush against them as he just looked them over for the time being.

As he made a second pass over the holocrons, his fingers brushed against one that made him freeze up and whip his head around. Slowly, he touched it again, and was rewarded with the same result; the singing he'd heard from earlier had been coming from this holocron. Or rather, it had been coming from the Force guiding him to it. Pulling it out, he fiddled with it for a couple of seconds before deciding he'd try to open it.

The holocron opened smoothly, almost as though the rust of time had completely ignored it. The light brightened, and a holographic image of a woman stood before him. _"Greeting fellow Jedi! Thank you for your interest in this history."_

"Um…what?"

The holographic image paused, looking at him with a shocked look. _"What do you mean you didn't come for the history? How could you not? Do you know who I am?"_

"Well, no?" Naruto scratched the back of his head, feeling rather awkward all of a sudden. This lady was startlingly emotional, and from the way the image put her hand on her hips he got the impression he was in trouble. "I'm sorry?"

The holocron image snorted, before throwing her head back in a laugh. _"Oh, don't worry, I'm just teasing you. History's always been a really boring subject anyways, but it's got a lot of awesome things too."_

Further confused, but now extremely caught up in this 'conversation', Naruto sank to the ground and grinned to the image. "Yeah, like stories, or the exploits of the people who made the galaxy awesome! I mean…" Naruto's face scrunched up as he tried to think of someone the holocron might know, but was stumbling over names having been somewhat put on the spot. "Well there's Master Yoda, but he's more recent. Um…"

The image rolled her eyes. _"Oh come on, you're missing the biggest one right off the bat!"_

"I am? Who?"

"_A person who stood with several other amazing Jedi during the Freedon Nadd Uprising and helped entomb him deep on Dxun. They fought against the Krath, and in many other battles. The person who was instrumental in defeating those who fought against us in the Sith War, and destroyed one of the most terrifying men you'd ever meet, Exar Kun." _She paused, seeming to wait for him to catch on before sighing in frustration. _"It's Nomi Sunrider!"_

"Nomi Sunrider? Oh…oh! Yeah I've heard of her." Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Although, I don't know much about her. You sound like you do though. Hehe, are you some sort of fan of hers?"

"_No, nothing like that, I'm just her daughter."_

"…what?"

"_Yep! My name is Vima Sunrider, daughter of Nomi Sunrider, the former master of the Jedi Order before I took her spot."_

"…WHAT?!"

x-=-x

The smell of stale air was surprisingly absent from most of the halls as An'ya Kuro continued on her way into the Temple. Likely it was due to the fact that the doors of the temple, while closed, had just enough give in them to allow for the air to cycle through very slowly.

Pausing in front of another door, she found her curiosity building slowly as she looked into each room she passed. Each one held a mix of feelings, their presence still lingering in the Force from times long gone. With them though came questions she found she couldn't answer, and questions that were beginning to worry her.

While Naruto was willing to go into the temple out of curiosity due to not knowing if the structure was correct, she could see that it was indeed a Jedi Temple. However, while she was going into the temple to find him, she was slowly beginning to question the building as well, wanting to know what had happened here.

A place such as this, a fortress of the Jedi, had gone to ruin. It had been abandoned and apparently it had been lost to time and forgotten even amongst the Jedi who'd once created it. She had no idea that this place existed, and with this building revealed to her, Naruto, and eventually to the other Jedi, it would show that Alaris Prime had in fact been populated at some point before the Wookiees had come to the world. While they would allow the Wookiees their world, they would quite likely ask to be given access to these halls.

Brushing her hand across the stonework, she found herself lost in thought. This had been something that was happening more and more since she'd left for her silent training away from the Jedi Temple. Her thoughts had gone where the Force wished them, but even now she was finding herself becoming lost and confused as to where she was meant to go.

In fact, the Force seemed almost uncertain about what to do with her nowadays. Constantly giving her multiple outcomes, guiding her and then leaving her to finish things out with the little nudges to help her keep on the path she wanted. Whatever she chose, it guided her as it always had, but she'd never had it give her this much freedom to choose which path she desired to follow, and even change the course as needed.

It wasn't supposed to work like that. In all the time she'd learned under her master, and all the things she'd learned while traveling the universe the Force had remained as a _constant_, not ever changing. It was meant to be a river, that which flowed alongside the road of life, which allowed those who were able to walk closely besides it to never be lost, and to always find their way. Now, it was as though someone had thrown a boulder into her stream, and over the years it had grown out of control into slowly building rapids that were beginning to dart around and wind their way towards a destination she was unfamiliar with, and one that perhaps even the Jedi had even considered.

Blinking as she realized that she'd gotten so lost, she pulled up short and realized that she'd almost walked past the Archives. Stepping back, she flinched when she saw the destruction that the world had dropped on the Archives. It looked like the world had dropped down and tried to destroy it, the door at the far end of the room being broken in such pieces that it would take quite a while to move them. Moving over towards the stones, she grimaced as she realized that there were a few places where someone small might be able to slip through.

Stepping back, she reached out through the Force and sought out a way to get through herself. Following the Force's guidance, her eyes slowly were drawn to the ceiling where there were some vents. Raising a brow at it, she shook her head as she suddenly realized that those vents could be quite the glaring weakness should someone get information on the temple's schematics.

Moving up to them, she sighed as she realized that the vent hadn't been opened in a long, long time, and as such was in the way. Drawing her lightsaber she cut through the steel with practiced ease before tossing it away. Clipping it back to her belt, she crawled into the vent and began making her way into the Archive.

It took several minutes for her to make her way into the room, finally forcing the opposite grate open. Dropping down into the room, she kept her eyes closed for a moment as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Slowly, she let her eyes open.

She was more than somewhat startled when she realized that the room had been ravaged. Stumbling backwards, she instinctively drew on the Force to try to help her see more clearly only to feel the dark side radiating from the room. Falling back, she stared at the center of the room, a sense of dread building inside her.

Situated in the center of the room was a red pyramid structured holocron; one that radiated with the power, and possibly the knowledge of the dark side. It was surrounded by other holocrons, many of which had been shattered by whoever had been here when they'd done this. There were some which were still on the shelves, but she couldn't focus on them as she stared it down.

She knew it, she knew what it was, and what was likely in it. A Sith holocron. A vessel for the dark secrets the Sith had built up over their millennia of tyranny, centuries of destruction, and their decades of war. What manner of secrets it held, what manner of dark and twisted knowledge it contained didn't matter.

Moving towards it, she grit her teeth as she stared it down. It called to her. It whispered for her to open it, to reveal the secrets held within and allow it to open her mind to the world around her. And she wanted nothing to do with it.

Taking a deep breath, she had to force herself to step away from it. Whatever was on the holocron could wait, and whatever entity had made it was not worth her time. Moving to the vent again, she glanced to the rocks baring her path. With the red glow, she suddenly realized that the rocks weren't actually from the ceiling, but rather had been placed over the entrance to prevent anyone from entering.

Frowning once more, she moved over to the stones and brushed her hands over it. It was a long shot, and it could be dangerous, but she felt that it was likely going to be best for her and others if she removed them rather than go through the vents again.

Concentrating on the Force, she tried to relax and allow the Force to flow through her as she tried to find a point where she could force the stones out and away from her. As she expected, she found that the Sith holocron's very presence threw her off as it saturated the air around her with the dark side. In fact, it almost seemed like it had increased the moment she began channeling the Force.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to block it out as the whispering began increasing. A hellish concord of the Sith language, the screams of the innocent, and the laugher of the damned. It beat with drums and resonated through the room, and she felt that if it were truly a sound, then it would bring down the room around her.

Clenching her eyes shut, her fingers curled as she let a hiss of pain and frustration slip through her teeth as she tried to push it out. She was losing focus, concentration wavering, and was starting to find that the darkness was gripping her mind, trying to drag her down as quickly as possible before she left.

Each and every barrier that she'd ever built up, the mental fortress of her mind was rammed into with the force of an army. She'd thought that she would be able to fight it off, to push her way through it, but as her hands finished clenching into fists she found it too much. She was going to lose.

"_Oi, leave her alone you bully!"_

Almost as soon as the voice spoke, she found the Force wrapping protectively around her mind and shoving outwards violently. Like a wave of pure energy and resolve, she suddenly found herself in a zone of silence. Giving herself a moment, she took the time to relax and refocus herself. Opening her eyes slowly to the darkness around her, she tried to determine what had happened.

She could feel cool moisture coming from her hands, likely blood from digging her nails into her palms. How much pain did she feel? Thinking about it, she found that her mind was currently numb, unable to understand what had just happened. Wincing as relaxed her hands, she stared back to the holocron hesitantly. The holocron still stood there, standing tall and proud amongst the others. But now the red hue glowed darkly, radiating with energy which was now looking far less threatening now that its whispering had become silenced

Turning to the stones, she began moving them out of the way quickly, not wishing to remain in the room any longer. It took a bit of work, trying not to think about the holocron, but slowly began to realize that the noise hadn't just pulled back, it had completely gone silent. Almost completely through with pushing the rocks out of the way, she turned back and stared at it once more.

Its presence, even in silence, was now weighing on her mind. Now she was worried, feeling that if she left it someone else would take it and with it could bring the darkness into the galaxy once more. The Jedi and galaxy had suffered from the presence of the Sith in the past once before, and she didn't know if they would be able to survive another. On the other hand, she also couldn't believe that she could resist the power of the dark side or be in its presence for too long should they end up taking it back to Coruscant to hide it away.

"_Are you sure we should leave that?"_

It was a very good question, but the voice now was not her own. "Naruto?"

"_Yeah, I'm still here Master. Sorry I was late, I didn't realize you were in trouble."_

"I wasn't…" She bit her tongue, recognizing her moment of weakness from a second before. "No...you're fine. I wouldn't…I…"

"_No problem Master. I know you'd have done the same for me if we were in each other's shoes."_

The confidence in his voice was startling, and it caused her to pause in thought. "And how are you so certain of that?"

"_Because, you're my master. I may worry about other things, but when it comes to my life I bet it's in no better hands."_

Letting her head fall, she closed her eyes and sighed. She knew that if the situation was like he'd said, there was a possibility that she'd hesitate. With everything that had gone on between them, she suddenly questioned whether or not she would be capable of stepping in to help him. And yet here he was – not even him, it was a clone of him – standing up against the dark side, fighting it and defending her as she moved forwards.

"…alright then. Do you think you can hold back the dark side?" An'ya asked carefully, her decision now precariously placed in his hands.

"_No way,"_ His answer almost drew her away, but thankfully he continued, _"There's no way I'd waste time by _thinking_ about stopping the dark side. It's like we've been told; do or do not, there is no try."_

Turning back to the center of the room, she felt her choice was now made. He was right; there was not time to think, only time to act, and do. Moving over to the holocron she grabbed it and clipped it on her belt. Perhaps it was a bit of arrogance, and perhaps it was misplaced trust, but she decided to believe in Naruto. She decided to believe that if he felt that he could hold back the dark side that had ambushed her, then she'd let him.

And if he struggled, then she would follow his lead. If the Force was telling her to act, then she would act. She'd done so for quite a while, but now she would do so with her newest padawan at her side.

"_I'm in the vault under the Tower of First Knowledge. I'll let me know you're coming, and we'll go from there, okay?"_

"Of course." She said, stepping over the rubble with a purposeful stride; finally feeling fully confident in herself, and in her padawan.

* * *

><p>AN: I love how even when Naruto isn't nearby, he's still influencing people.<p>

Well then, there are two things that I've been looking forward too, with Naruto's being one that I've thought out and laughed at for quite a while. I can't stop thinking about Naruto's confused face at her statement. Also, just to let you all be aware, _yes_ Nomi and Yima _are not_ my characters; they are from the extended Star Wars universe and are owned by someone else and I'm just using them...for reasons. As for how I'm taking this, and how this will affect the story…ah, that's where more fun things will continue to come our way.

So, until next time, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness**. Expect more fun in the next chapter!


	26. Chapter 26

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>In some ways, it was a good thing that Naruto's ankle was injured, as it kept him from darting around the room as he tried to process the information he'd just found out. However, he was also Naruto Uzumaki, and when he found the will, nothing was impossible.<p>

Which is why after setting down the holocron he was hopping around the holocron on one foot with his arms flailing as he tried to take that one simple, singular sliver of information in. "So, so what you're saying is, she's your mom? Which means she…and someone…but then how was she a Jedi? Unless she wasn't always a Jedi, which would be even crazier, but it would make sense and…wait, gimme a second." Naruto skid to a stop grabbed his head. Taking a deep breath to help clear his mind, he turned and sat next to the holocron. "Okay, go."

"_My mother wasn't born into the Jedi Order, though she was accepted much later in her life. In fact, she told me that it was sometime after I was born that she even sought out the order. It…was after my father had died. He was a Jedi too."_

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked, eyes filled with awe as he tried desperately to process all this information. "But, she wasn't a Jedi, but could be a Jedi? And she married a Jedi, had you, but then your dad-Jedi died?" Realizing he was overwhelming the holocron with questions, he bit his lip and focused on one of the things she'd said. "Um…start with why you said she looked for the order."

"_While it wasn't an easy path, or one that she really wanted at first. Father was a Jedi, and although she supported him, they sometimes got into fights about it. After he was killed, she decided she needed to follow the Force, where she found a Jedi master who they'd been looking for. And, when she accepted her role as a Jedi, she was able to become one of the greatest Jedi in the order."_

Naruto leaned back at that, rubbing his eyes as he groaned. This was all getting quite deep, quite quickly, and he was beginning to think he might've just been better off not opening the holocron. And yet he also knew that this was some of the coolest information he'd ever learned in such a short amount of time.

There had been a Jedi, master of the Order even, who had been a parent. Not only that, but their child had _also_ been part of the Order, and their spouse had been a member too! And she'd become a legend among the Jedi, a luminescent warrior who was capable of overcoming the dark side and banishing it to whence it had arisen and had kept it from coming back. While it hadn't been the _most_ interesting thing he'd heard from when he was learning history, he'd paid attention when they'd spoken about her in the temple.

However, this also brought up a great deal of questions. Reviewing what he knew of her from the Jedi teachings, he couldn't remember when they mentioned that she was a mother or much of her personal life. In fact, most of the time was spent on her being a person who'd connected with the Force and defeated Exar Kun, not on anything of her personal life. While that was often times what happened when it came to history, this felt quite a bit off for them to leave that out, and it brought up even more questions.

One of which was Exar Kun. He'd never really given the story thought, but he was mentioned in the Temple. He'd been used almost like a story told to younglings to help teach them life lessons about the dangers of following those who had fallen to the dark side. It had never once occurred to him before, but now the idea had begun forming in his head. Who was Exar Kun really? And why had the Jedi made him out to be the Sith variant of a boogieman? What if he was a nice guy? And perhaps the strangest question of all, could Vima answer those questions?

Another was one that made his faith in the Jedi shake just a bit more; why had they lost such important holocrons like this? This information, that a Jedi had formed attachments and had become master of the Order, was simply mind blowing. It _sounded _like it should be something at least worth mentioning in the Jedi Archives. After almost living in the section of the Jedi Temple for six years, he hadn't even brushed the surface of what the Archives contained, but he could tell from how the Jedi reacted to displays of affection that were even borderline close to that kind of bond, that the Jedi had _not_ taught his as freely as some other things.

Grabbing his hair, he groaned in frustration. "Okay…okay then. So, your mom…wow that feels weird to say, was Nomi Sunrider, and she was the master of the Order in your time. And…she was older when she became one? I mean, if you were born, then she'd have to be…uh…old?"

"_She wasn't _that _old."_ Vima rolled her eyes, laughing softly at Naruto's fumblings. Even for a holocron that had been hidden for eons, it still seemed to carry her personality and strength of will quite well. _"It certainly isn't uncommon for some Jedi to be taken in when they were discovered to be Force sensitive. But some who were found later in their lives, like my mom, the Jedi had to wait since they were older for them to make their own choice. After all, the unwilling student isn't one who'll learn the quickest, and will be the one most willing to turn to the dark side when an easier path is offered."_

Naruto's eyes widened at that, and he felt himself flinch slightly at that. He himself hadn't been the most stalwart student, though he had trained on his own time, and the description of those who could fall to the dark side felt like he himself might be closer to that edge than he'd realized. Although, he often chose the route that was more difficult, just to prove that he could do it, so…maybe he wasn't? He'd meditate on it later; there was still many more things to lose himself in for the meantime.

Nodding weakly, he shifted his position to a cross legged meditating stance as he rubbed his forehead. "Okay…okay then, that's cool." Looking back to Vima, he tried to remember what she'd said earlier. "What did you say you have on this holocron again? I mean, what information did you store on here?"

"_The history and personal diaries of Nomi Sunrider." _Vima said, almost looking rather proud of herself as she said so. _"If you ever meet her, please don't tell her I took a copy of her diary and put it here. She was planning on breaking them after a while, and I figured that someday in the future, they might be useful to a fellow Jedi. After all, she's helped me so much too. And if you do, tell her don't worry, I didn't put any of the embarrassing things…mostly because she didn't have much embarrassing things to begin with."_

"So, you've made this holocron as a record of her life? Of how she lived during the time where Exar Kun brought about the schism among the Jedi that lead to one of the many Sith Wars?"

"_Sith War? Well…I guess you could say that. He was at one point a Jedi himself, but he fell to the dark side and managed to drag others with him in doing so. Ulic Qel-Droma, my master and my mother's former lover, was one of those who fell with him. It was a…difficult time, and one that I saw during the middle of my childhood. My mom fought fiercely in those battles, and was a shining light for all Jedi who were losing hope from how easily they felt Kun was manipulating their friends. Her defense of the galaxy and skills overall were some of the reasons why I wanted to be a Jedi."_

Naruto's eyes widened at that. That name was another that was found only sparingly in the Jedi teachings, and while it spoke of him, any and all information that had been written about him had been buried in the Great Holocron, which held so much knowledge and information that _finding_ it was more than a chore; it was like looking for a specific gem in a maze that was filled with gems.

Thinking back on everything she had told him so far, he knew that Exar Kun's time was thousands of years ago, but even though it so very long ago, it didn't explain why the Jedi Order had changed so much during that time. He knew that it would change, as if they didn't than they'd become a lost people, but the question remained; how? To his mind, if felt like they had gone from being some of the greatest people, with the most interesting personal lives and struggles, to just being cookie cutter heroes that occasionally had people of significance as time progressed.

Burying his face in his hands, he groaned loudly in frustration. Taking a deep breath, he stared at her for a moment longer. "…okay, on last question."

"_Go ahead."_

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but found that his one last question wasn't about Nomi Sunrider or her daughter right now. There was another thought that was bugging him. "I…heard a song on my way here. No words, just a tune. Do you know what that song was?"

To his surprise, her face seemed to fall at that, and she sighed heavily as she shook her head. _"It was…the tune that one day might've been the Ballad of Nomi Sunrider. However, the Force has recently shifted, and now all that's left is a nameless tune."_

"Wait what?! But, how is that possible?"

"_I don't know. All I know is, that when I placed these memories into this crystal I had a vision of a time where the Jedi would gather together, and a woman would sing a song about my mother. It would tell about her exploits, and it told of her how she really was. But then, a few years ago the Force began to shift, to warp and change, and now I don't know if that song will ever be written. Thankfully the Force has been kind to me; I am allowed to hold onto the tune that I've hummed for the last thousand years."_

That caught him off guard. "What do you mean?"

"_The Force shifted, and the song of my mother was lost. I can't explain it really. I can only say that it's happened. However, because it was meant to happen at some point, the Force has still allowed me to sing the song of my mother, and perhaps even allow another to sing it in the future."_

"…has the Force…been known to shift? I mean, is that even possible?" He asked, already knowing that among the Jedi, the Force 'shifting' wasn't something commonly thought of. It was ever flowing, unchangeable, and a rock that a Jedi could anchor themselves to in the midst of the storm that was the galaxy. Not a turntable of energy that could be shifted from one direction to the next, never allowing those who used it to be certain of where their destination was.

"_Not in particular, but then we're always learning new things about the Force."_ Vima remarked with a sad smile. _"When fighting the Sith, we've found that there are many ways in which a person can be broken, hurt, and turned by them, and many things we need to be cautious about as they could give the Sith a way to hurt those Jedi who've long practice them."_

"You mean like the relationships your mom had?"

"_Yes, like those relationships. Obviously they're not a _bad_ thing as senators and other people live their daily lives and are still able to get along, function, and live normal healthy lives. It's a normal part of a healthy and happy society. However we're Jedi, constantly putting ourselves in a place where we can try to help people. Sometimes, that means that we make enemies…and those enemies would do anything they could to get to us, to hurt us."_

Every word his master had said on attachments came back to him with full force as she said that. Friends could make mistakes. Loved ones could be tricked into falling away from you. Attachments could blind one to the truth of what is happening around them.

"_The only attachment you need, is the Force."_

"_You're wrong."_

"I see." Naruto muttered, smiling weakly at the holoimage. "Thank you. I'll…try talking to you more later, if that's okay?"

"_Of course."_ Vima bowed, her image flickering as though about to turn off, but then paused with one last thing to say. _"May the Force be with you."_

"…thanks." Naruto said softly, watching as she left him in the silence of the room once more. Picking up the holocron, he gently placed it into his pouch before laying against the nearest shelves. Closing his eyes, he tried desperately to call upon the Force to meditate and get some peace in the maelstrom that were the many thoughts now ricocheting around in his mind.

Glancing around, a part of him felt like he'd been hit by the mother lode of information, rather than hit it himself. There were still so many holocrons here, likely with a great deal of information that the Order had at one point gathered, but had eventually lost. Now, he held one of them, but he didn't want to give it up until he'd delved as deep as it could into it. Since he'd found it, did that make it his? Because this was his 'discovery', did that mean he had some kind of claim to what was found? The obvious answer was 'no', but now he wasn't so sure if he wanted to let it go either.

How many lessons had been lost because the masters had worried that someone would follow them down a dark path? Vima had spoken of her mother with pride, and deep respect. Was it not possible for the Jedi to have such attachments? With the way she spoke, were they not something that could potentially be used for good?

And, upon further thinking it over, Vima had another good point. While the Jedi had more than likely grown much larger than it had been in her time, there were still Force sensitive people who existed outside of the Jedi Order. Many would never understand the power of the Force, while others might've even discovered it without fully realizing what it was and done whatsoever they wanted with it. What about those people? Were they not entitled to learn to control their abilities, and be given the possibilities to have that same peace of mind that was supposed to come with being a Jedi?

_Snap-hiss._

It took a second for Naruto to heard the sound of the lightsaber being activated, and snapped his head towards the doors a second to late. "Wait don't!"

As the lightsaber impacted the door, it was quickly followed by the lightsaber shorting out and dying much like it had when he'd tried it. "…cortosis? Just like the one on Coruscant…I should've guessed as much."

"Master? Is that you?" Naruto blinked, moving towards the door and peaked out of the crack he'd managed to make.

"Naruto, stand back." She said firmly, getting him to stumble backwards as he felt her presence in the Force sharpen. With a firm push with the Force, the doors squealed against her efforts in resistance. Slowly though, they began opening further than Naruto had opened them, and within a few moments, the doors had parted enough that she could walk in comfortably.

Hobbling over to her, he stared up at her in confusion. "How did you find me? I…didn't I fall in the river?"

"You aren't the only one with a few tricks up their sleeve Naruto." She said with a smile, which quickly fell when she realized Naruto was putting all his weight on one leg. Kneeling down, she grabbed his other leg gently. "You sprained your ankle in the water?"

"Well…not exactly." Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I was kind of caught in the chandelier as I feel through a hole in the ceiling, and it…well it twisted it."

Kuro glanced up at him, raising a brow in concern. "And you've been hobbling around here for the last few hours on an injured leg?"

"Well, no. I _had_ a clone helping me, but when I got here I let him return to the Force. He wasn't holding together to well since he'd been trying to help make sure that my leg was okay while we walked." Frowning, he reached out to the other clone. "Huh, he's still around? Good to know then."

She shook her head with a sigh. As she spoke, a soft glow emitted from her fingers as she focused on Naruto's leg. "Well, at least you had some sense when coming in here."

"What do you mean? Of course I had sense! I was just following the Force and…well, it's how I found this place."

"You say, and yet you ventured deeper into an unknown region without any idea of what might actually be in here? Naruto you had clones who could feel the Force themselves and could have done it for you while you remained in the meditation room." Her lecture was lighter than she intended, but still held the concepts she wanted him to think about.

In truth, she was a bit pleased to know that Naruto had followed the Force. Despite everything, he _was_ taking in what she was saying, and allowing it to guide him and his choices. While she knew he could have gone through this another way, perhaps he simply felt that he needed to come here himself.

"I didn't think about that." Naruto admitted, quickly throwing that last part out. "But, I wouldn't have wanted a clone here anyways. It's…it would've been too weird trying to listen to the holocron while in the meditation room."

"What holocron?"

Naruto flinched, which he immediately knew was both seen and felt by his master. She said nothing though, allowing him to gather himself as she focused on his leg. While he hadn't noticed yet, it was feeling _much_ better, and his weight was slowly able to shift onto it.

With a great deal of reluctance, he pulled out the holocron he'd picked up and showed it to her. "It's…this one. The Force led me to it. It's a holocron of Vima Sunrider…daughter of Nomi Sunrider."

The tone in his voice was weak, and his mind filled with so many thoughts. As she looked up at him, her eyes seemed to be distant, as though silently trying to read each and every though and emotion that flickered across his eyes. Fear, confusion, worry, doubt. So many things, of which one in particular stood out to her.

"Naruto, are you afraid of me?"

The words were cool, and held the barest hints of pain in her voice. Naruto's mouth opened and closed slowly, as he silently searched for the answer. In all honestly, after four months of trying to hide it, to hold it in, he'd had enough. And, as one who often acted on impulse, he let those impulses take over. "Yes."

The answer was one that she'd been expecting, but still cut deeply all the same. "…why?"

"Because I don't want to forget anymore."

Leaning back, she frowned that answer. "What in the world do you mean Naruto?"

Naruto stared at the ceiling, arms held out as though trying to grip his words to help form them. "I…master…when I was beaten up by Bruck, he told me I forgot him. I didn't believe him, but after a while I decided I needed to meditate on it and…found that part of my memory is missing. He said that the Jedi wiped my mind so that I wouldn't become like him." Staring at her, he felt moisture building in his eyes as he tried to keep himself from bolting away from her. It wouldn't matter, she was a master, and she would catch him if he ran. "I don't want to forget…"

"Naruto…" An'ya Kuro's voice was gentle, perhaps the most it had been in many, many years. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she looked him in the eyes intently. "I would never force you to forget something, understood?"

"But, the Jedi…"

"And the Jedi would not either. It is not the Jedi way to force another to forget an event. It's true that perhaps if you remembered it that you could become like him, but you were young when you first met him, and by the time you had met him again you'd become my student." Recalling the clone who was helping her fend off the dark side in the holocron she'd picked up, she smiled gently. "If there is anyone who I believe won't follow that path to the dark side, it's you Naruto."

"But, I'm not like you." Naruto muttered. "I don't want to lose the bonds I make with people. I feel stronger, better when I am around my friends. They build me up, and I'm able to help them back. But…if someone tried to use that against me…"

"Then you lean on me."

He found himself startled by her statement, blinking rapidly at her words. "Wh-what?"

Gripping his shoulder gently, she gave him a serious look as she slowly continued. "I do my best to not have connections, to allow myself to be guided by only the Force. As such, do not expect me to form an attachment to you. If you fall, I will not be there to catch you. However," Her lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. "I can help you when you stumble, if you'll let me. That means you may come to me when you're slipping, and I'll offer all that I can. Just remember; if you don't ask, I will not always know what it is I can do to help. Understood?"

Naruto nodded slowly, feeling somewhat surprised by how easy that had been. Would it always be so simple? Not likely. However, as he felt her comforting grip on his shoulder, he entertained the idea that it would be. That in the future, he would simply need to just talk it out, and be honest.

The moment was ended when he felt the presence of his other clone in his mind. _"Hey boss? I'm about to expire here in a little bit. Think you can take over from here?"_

"Take over what?"

"_Um, Master Kuro found some holocron that was attacking her, so I've been holding it back."_ Naruto's eyes darted to his master who nodded, hearing what the clone was saying as well.

"I…believe that it will still require the two of us to push it back." She said slowly, surprised when Naruto immediately nodded.

"Alright then, I'll do it!" Naruto placed his hands on Kuro's shoulders, closing his eyes and immediately reached out with the Force.

As his and his clone's energies met, they immediately intertwined, amplifying the sensation from before and allowing her to feel the energetic and resolved feeling now an impenetrable wall. For a moment, An'ya believed that even a lightsaber would have trouble cutting through a shield like this, were it physically manifested. Then, the clone expired, and the feeling returned to normal.

Standing tall, she turned to the entrance and began to leave, expecting Naruto to follow. When he hesitated, she glanced back at him. "What's wrong?"

"Um, well," Naruto played with the holocron he'd picked up slowly, still not wanting it to be taken or left behind. "I was wondering if I could keep this? You know, learn some of the history before it's put into the archives on Coruscant."

An'ya Kuro shook her head with a smile. "Naruto, we still have quite a bit of time while we're here. Until we leave, I expect that holocron to never leave your possession, even if I were to take it. You were lead to it by the Force, and until such time that you feel you've learned all you need, I understand your decision to hold onto it. When we return, I'll speak to the Council, and see if they will allow you to hold onto it for a little longer should you need it. While I'm sure the masters will want to see it themselves as well, I don't see anything wrong with allowing you to learn about one of the great Jedi of our past."

Naruto brightened immensely, saluting his master with a grin from ear to ear. "Thank you so much master!" Still acting a lot on his impulses, he stepped forwards he gave her a quick hug.

Although not accustomed to displays of affection, she returned the hug and pat him on the head gently. There was a lingering feeling left when he let go, but one that she hadn't felt in a long time. "Alright then, if we're all set, then let's get back to work. This has been a nice detour, but we _do_ have a mission to accomplish."

"Oh, right, that." Naruto said, blushing sheepishly as he chuckled. "I was getting so caught up in finding this, I almost forgot that we weren't here to find it. Sorry master, I'll be more focused in the future."

"It's quite alright. It's not every day you can say you dove into the belly of a long lost Jedi Temple after all." She said with a light laugh. "However, we still have much to do. Come, we must be off."

Naruto jogged after her, blinking when he realized his ankle felt _much_ better now. Deciding to ask about it later, as he felt his current question was more important, he turned back to An'ya. "So, um, since my clone's gone…how do we get out of here?"

x-=-x

The area where the temple stood had gotten remarkably quite as the sun began to brush against the tops of the trees in the far distance, creating a glow of many colors which illuminated the trees beautifully in the light of the fading day. For the area of the temple though, an ominous shadow had rocketed towards it, their face hidden by their cowl which protected them from the light as they rode their personal STAP through the area. As the approached, they slowed to a stop upon noticing something out of place and hopped off.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, the shadow stood staring silently at the strong stone structure. With a look of cold indifference, they made their way into the clearing as they looked it over. The structure was overgrown with wroshyr trees, and could easily be missed by a droid that was looking for the more specific markings of it, but it was clearly a structure that had been build many millennia ago.

In fact, it had many of the same structures as another one that they'd seen, and the thought of it made them growl. It was one that had brought them no peace, as it had been one of the first of many mistakes in their lifetime which brought them to this point. Still, it had also been the first step that had led them on many fruitful adventures which had given them an opportunity to do what they were now placed in charge of.

Perhaps more importantly though, it was a clue. Closing their eyes, they tried to think back on what they'd read, and what they were looking for. Could it be possible that what he sought was here? Hiding in the ruins of the temple, hidden on a planet that no one would bother looking for when their time was said and done?

As their eyes slowly traced the place, a squad of OOM-droids marched behind them carefully. Two of them shuffled in place, seeming almost nervous if one were to look at them, while the yellow commander droid stood stalk still. They had been the ones to go over this area, and the ones who had not reported the changes they'd found either. The two glanced to the commander, who stared forward almost as coldly as their commander, saying nothing as they waited to be addressed.

Within a few moments, to the two droids dismay, the eyes of the shadowed figure fell on something that didn't belong in the clearing. "Why is there a hole here?"

"Gundarks most likely. With how we, and now with the recent attacks by the Wookiees, have been mercilessly chasing them, many have begun to abandon the hollow trees that were once their nests and have decided to burrow underground." The commander droid said. When the other two raised their hand as though to say something, his blaster rifle whipped around to point at them, daring them to say something as they continued. "It wasn't here when we did our rounds, so it must be recent. Should we exterminate them?"

"Exterminate them…" Their voice almost sounded like they'd enjoy that idea, but the shake of their head said otherwise. "No, that won't be necessary. He wouldn't have left it here anyways, as it's too close to the light side of the Force. A Jedi Temple, though a humorous place, would simply…taint the purity of his work. Move along, I want to make it to the high rise when the quadrant it lit ablaze." They said moving purposefully past the temple, even going so far as to spit in its direction with a scowl beneath their cowl. "We do not have time for such pointless pieces of history as it is."

"Roger, roger." The droids responded. The two droids glanced to their commander whose head turned to them slowly.

"…don't you say a word." It said, a slight static crackle to its voice as the other two slowly nodded. Neither of them wanted to mess with the haywire droid, and neither of them wanted to get in trouble with their leader either. So for now, they stood silent, and followed them deeper into the forest.

* * *

><p>AN: Hurrah for student-teacher bonding time.<p>

Now, for some quick Q&A:

**Hylian Mage**: Sorry for missing this last chapter! Jeez I'm getting sloppy with that. In answer to your questions; it's a surprise, mwahahaha, and of course!

**Macilnar**: Ah, my viewers are quite sharp. Of course, everyone who writes Star Wars crossovers know that including an older Jedi from a time when relationships were allowed is good, but there's actually more reasons as to why I picked her. The relationships, while brought up multiple times, were meant just as an appetizer. There's plenty more to come, though that'll be after Naruto returns to his home world.

**Drew86419**: You bring up an interesting point, however...Naruto was 5 when he entered the Temple. He currently is 11. Yes, that _is_ six years, however bear in mind that Naruto also spent part of that time as a troublemaker to ensure that he was placed under Kuro's tutelage. He's still a kid, and even with the world as his oyster, he's not going to suddenly up and mature just like that. Grated, there are bits that could be refined, but those are bits that Naruto intentionally didn't work on, and may come back to bite him later.

So that's all the questions that were asked so far. Until next time, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness**~!


	27. Chapter 27

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

Also, to quickly address something (If you're reading this after 1/10/15, skip on to the chapter), I found the mistake I made in chapter 24 with Kuro and the clone and fixed it. Hopefully that'll help explain it a bit better. It didn't need to much, but it _was_ distracting, and I thank all the people who pointed it out for helping bring it to my attention.

With that taken care of, here's chapter 27 of **From Darkness**!

* * *

><p>Qui-gon sat silently as he mulled over everything that had happened that day. From their initial encounter with the gundarks to their encounter with An'ya Kuro, everything seemed to have gone in a rather strange and perhaps unconventional manner. Some of the Wookiees seemed a bit perturbed by the presence and impression of An'ya Kuro, and the gundarks that they'd taken back to camp to skin didn't help much.<p>

Her reactions had been swift, and her attack merciless. None of the gundarks that had been brought back had done so unscathed save for one, and of them a surprisingly high number of them had been killed by her before the Wookiees had arrived to finish them off. Some had thought it was disrespectful of them to kill the gundarks when she seemed in the midst of her own hunt, and it had taken some reassurance from Qui-gon at that time for them to be convinced that they should help.

There was also the fact that some of them hadn't believed that there was another pair of Jedi roaming the forest as of yet until they'd seen her. Much like Attichitcuk had told them, they hadn't taken her appearance well, and had felt that the Jedi were attempting to stick their noses where they didn't belong. Only the diplomatic intervention of Attichitcuk, and Chewbacca had prevented them from continuing these thoughts; though there were undoubtedly some who still held onto their thoughts even so.

Looking to the pair, he couldn't help but smile at them. Their presence had been the rallying point for the Wookiees in their own way, and yet both had been willing to help stand beside them. Attichitcuk was the one who'd initially helped them get settling rights to the planet, and was their leader for this expedition. However, Chewbacca brought a strong sense of leadership in the raid on the gundarks, helping drive them back, and then defeat them with the help of An'ya Kuro later. And yet despite the differences in the way they led, both of them had been willing to stand up for An'ya Kuro, and for Naruto.

The thought of the boy worried him somewhat, as he was silently troubled by the boy's disappearance. He knew that despite their best intentions, and despite Naruto's own intentions, trouble seemed to find the boy at the most inopportune of moments. Even when he wasn't actively trying to look for trouble it found him, and dragged him along into things that many masters would find themselves worried by. This time was no different, and Qui-gon silently hopped that Naruto would be fine. Even though the Force was his guide, there was no telling what this planet or even the Force had in store for him.

Sensing someone approaching, he glanced up to see Chewbacca coming to sit next to him. {You look troubled.}

Qui-gon smiled, though there was a far off look in his eyes as he sighed. "Perhaps a bit. I…am allowing my mind to wander from the present moment, and I find that it is resting more and more on the safety of my companions."

Chewbacca nodded, taking a seat next to him as he placed his chin on his paws. {Is there anything I can do to help? I can still rally a search party if that would help find him.}

"No, that won't be necessary. I trust his master to be able to find him without much issue. Honestly, what worries me is what kinds of trouble Naruto will get himself into." Qui-gon closed his eyes, the nagging feeling in the Force remaining in the back of his head, telling him to be careful, yet never explaining what it was to be wary of.

{He didn't seem like the troublemaking sort when you brought him to us.} Chewbacca muttered, thinking back on when the two of them had arrived to speak with Attichitcuk. {Although, he _did_ go straight for my bowcaster and began asking questions.}

Qui-gon chuckled at the memory of that, recalling Naruto's valiant attempt to pull back to bowcaster's string despite it not only being too large for him, but requiring a Wookiee's strength to do so. Glancing to his own padawan, he smiled as the boy watched the Wookiees discuss their ryyk blades to him while carving the gundark. "No he's not been like that as of late. He just has a natural attraction to trouble, and even when he's not seeking it out, it tends to find him. I just…worry that something will happen to him while he's here."

Chewbacca growled softly, seeming rather unnerved by Qui-gon's words. {Do you feel that there's something…wrong? I thought he was just going to investigate the droids, and determine who it was who is attacking us.}

"Yes, he is, however with his luck, I can imagine it turning from an attempt to determine who is attacking your people, to him doing battle with the entire battalion of droids." Thinking further on the subject, Qui-gon winced slightly. "It doesn't help that Naruto tends to be a bit twitchy around droids, and doesn't enjoy their presence. Although, it could be that because of that he'll want to be as far from them as possible and they'll get out without issues. Only the Force knows."

{The Force…} Chewbacca muttered. He'd heard Qui-gon and Obi-wan discuss it before, but he had no idea whether or not he truly believed the concept of an all-powerful force that guided and directed the universe at large.

Before they could continue their discussion, they both turned to a disturbance coming into the camp. At the opposite end, one of the Wookiee scouts was shouting something that they could barely make out and pointing off into the distance. Standing in unison, they made their way towards the frantic Wookiee.

{Shoran! What is going on?} Chewbacca asked his friend, getting his fellow Wookiee's attention.

{He says that he spotted droids setting fire to the wroshyr trees not far from here.} Shoran said, glancing to where the scout had been pointing. Flinching, he growled as he spotted smoke beginning to rise from the area. {Looks like he was right.}

Seeing the smoke as well, Chewbacca turned to his fellow Wookiees and bellowed loudly, barking out commands as he raced through the camp to grab what he could think of to help curb the building fire. Quickly arming himself with his bowcaster, not wanting to be defenseless should the battle droids turn on them, he quickly strung it over his shoulder and began making his way in the direction of the fire.

Seeing the other Wookiees gathering, Obi-wan jumped to his feet, trying to scramble to keep up with them as he too grabbed what he could to assist them in their work. As Qui-gon passed his student, he felt himself agreeing with his student when he heard him mumble, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

x-=-x

Despite Naruto's initial concerns, An'ya knew her way through the Jedi Temple, and following the glow of Naruto's lightsaber, the two soon found themselves passing the Archive before making their way back to the meditation room they'd begun in. Though they'd spent quite a few hours traveling through the large expanse of the area, they were both reasonably satisfied with their endeavor, and were quite pleased to note that things had gone smoothly for the remainder of their trip out. After all the failings and mishaps that had occurred previously, it was nice to have a few moments to relax and refocus.

Upon arriving in the room though, her face became slightly soured as she noted the vine she'd left for them to climb up had coiled up on the floor, severed from where she'd tied it initially. Kneeling next to it, she sighed heavily. "Well, this is worrisome."

Naruto glanced upwards, eyeing the ceiling thoughtfully. Now that he was looking at it, he realized that the ceiling was quite a bit higher up than he'd initially thought. While he could still lift himself out with the help of a clone, just imagining the dizzying highs made his stomach turn slightly.

Shaking his head, he glanced back to his master. "What do you mean?"

"My vine was severed…" Narrowing her eyes, she let her thumb brush slowly against her frayed and seared end of the vine. "No, blasted off from the wroshyr tree I'd tied it to. Most likely it was blasted by some of the battle droids, which means there might be some still above us waiting."

"Oh…poodoo." Naruto muttered, eyeing the hole with a hint of anger in his eyes. "Evil hunks of junk, just couldn't leave our vine alone could they?"

"Perhaps." An'ya frowned, thinking over what she'd seen from the droids. While it was obvious that the droids were attacking people, the first words that they'd said to her was 'hands up'. They hadn't shot her, and they hadn't done anything which might've harmed her initially. In fact, it seemed more like they had different ideas. "Most likely there's a trap outside the hole now, waiting to catch us. They seem to want us alive, rather than dead."

"Then…" Naruto frowning as he tried to think of what they could do. Suddenly, a mischievous grin crossed his face. "Why don't we spring the trap?"

An'ya flinched, glancing back to Naruto with a stern expression. "Naruto, what are you – "

Before she finished, Naruto had formed a clone next to him who had a similar expression. Grabbing the clone's shoulder, the two nodded in unison. Lifting the clone with the Force, he slowly and shakily manipulated it until he was able to fit the clone's head up through the hole, giving it a second to look around before lifting it the rest of the way up. Proudly nodding to himself, he glanced back to his master who had a rather blank look for a moment before nodding approvingly.

"Hey, there's no one here!" The clone shouted down into the room, looking somewhat nervous after looking around to see if someone had heard him.

"What do you mean no one's there?" Naruto asked, not liking the sound of that either.

"I mean no one's here and there doesn't look like there's any traps set up for us." The clone said, looking back down with a shrug. "Maybe they got tired of waiting?"

"…they're droids. Droids don't get tired of waiting." Naruto said with a deadpanned expression.

"Well then maybe…oh…that might be why."

"What do you see?" An'ya called, noting that the clone was looking away from them again with a startled expression.

"There's a fire not too far from where we're at. It looks like it's building fast too." The clone glanced back down to them with a worried look. "We might want to get out of here…fast. I don't know which way it'll go, of if it's meant to keep us from getting somewhere."

An'ya frowned at that, but nodded at the clone's suggestion. "Naruto, I'll lift you next."

Before Naruto could argue the point, she had quickly lifted him and guided him upwards. Unlike his clone's slower, more uncertain path, his was quick and sent him through the hole without any difficulties. Upon landing on the surface, Naruto quickly moved to the other side of the hole, reaching out with his clone to grab ahold of her.

When the Force intertwined around her, she was surprised by how secure his grip on her was as he drew her upwards. Unlike his clone's ascent, hers felt much smoother than his looked, and it appeared that Naruto was a bit surprised by it as well. Much like his ascent by her guidance, she soon found herself coming out of the hole and landing next to him.

Glancing back to Naruto, who seemed in awe of what he'd just done, she wryly grinned at him. "You've never tried to use the Force on things with your clones before, have you?"

Naruto shook his head, seeming rather ashamed that he hadn't. "No, I mostly used them as sparing partners to try and get to the point where I could fight besides them. I didn't know…"

"Their connection to the Force is your own. I've never seen many Jedi use the technique as we don't often require such things, however, it does have its uses. Perhaps you'll even teach others what you've learned, and make the study of the technique more viable." She said, getting Naruto to blink rapidly at the thought of doing something like that. The idea of immortalizing the things he'd learned was interesting, and he'd have to give it more thought.

While he was lost in thought, An'ya pulled out the nav-computer she'd gotten off the STAP from earlier. Switching it on, she began messing with it carefully, slowly tracking the signal back to its origin. While it took some work, there was soon a flashing marker on the screen which showed a rather rudimentary two-dimensional map of the area where their base was.

Turning in the direction of the marker, her eyes narrowed when she realized that the marker was in a different direction than the fire. If they'd set fire to the forest, it made sense to do so away from their location, but…why? What was the point of it, unless…it wasn't the droids? If so, than who was it?

Turning to Naruto, she motioned him to follow her. It was time that they finally finished their mission and figure out what was going on with these droids.

x-=-x

It took them a short while to find the place, thought they required some detours to get there as the foliage was too thick to get to through in multiple areas. Upon getting to it, both of them found themselves staring at something they hadn't been expecting; a near empty field, with only a single carrier left on the far side of it, and a small transport nearby.

"I thought he'd stolen a lot more than just one of these things." Naruto muttered, slightly twitchy as he saw that there were a few battle droids nearby the entrance of the carrier. "This…doesn't feel right. Are we in the right place?"

"This is the right place Naruto." An'ya frowned as well, not liking how this looked either. "I do have to agree with you though, we're missing something."

"So…what's the plan?"

She was silent, eyeing the two vessels thoughtfully before coming to a decision. "The smaller vessel isn't of Trade Federation make. If we can get any data from it, it'll likely give us the identity of our thief, and perhaps even his employer."

Naruto nodded vigorously at this, remembering his discussion with Nute Gunray a month ago. He wouldn't fail to find out what happened, and to help clear the name of the Trade Federation in the suspected attack on the Wookiees. "Alright, let's go."

Moving slowly around the forest's edge, they kept to the shadows as they moved towards the small ship. Surprisingly, it didn't have any droids guarding it, but it was kept within the shadow of the carrier's wing, which meant that getting to it meant they'd need to be careful not to alert the droids to their presence least they activate every droid onboard. Two Jedi they may have been, but that did not mean that they were capable of defeating an entire carrier full of droids on their own.

Once they got into position, just outside the droid's vision, they made their way over to the ship. Both of them froze and dove for cover behind the transport when one of them glanced in their direction suddenly, its head turning back and forth curiously.

"Did you hear something?" It asked its companion droid.

The other droid peaked around the corner, looking around slowly before shaking its head. "I don't see anything. You should get your sensors checked."

"I swore I heard something though."

Naruto sighed softly as he glanced to his master, who was also pressed against the back of the small ship. "Well, that was close."

She nodded in agreement. While she'd dealt with droids before, battle droids hadn't been high on that list, and they'd almost underestimated them. Turning back to the ship, she slowly reached up to open the ramp. To her surprise, it opened without any issues, making her and Naruto glance to one another.

"Um…we aren't expected are we?" Naruto asked, suddenly much more nervous about things. An'ya rolled her eyes at Naruto's question, motioning him to follow cautiously.

Walking up the ramp, the two inspected it slowly, making sure that there wasn't any surprise onboard. Once again, they found themselves surprised to find that there was nothing waiting for them, and there were no traps or droids that they could see waiting to ambush them. Slowly, they made their way further onto the ship, heading towards the communications array.

The ship was powered down, which posed as an immediate problem for the duo as they wanted to activate the communications systems. With some thought, An'ya handed Naruto the data card. "Stay here. As soon as I get basic power running, we should be able to get the most recent communications that the ship has received. I'll stay up front and keep an eye on our…friends, and if they start moving we'll have time to get out before they find us."

"Got it." Naruto muttered, moving towards the communications relay as he fingered the card slowly. "What about the signal? Do you think it's coming from here?"

An'ya thought about it for a second, but quickly shook her head. "No, it's more likely that the signal is coming from the carrier itself. All they'd likely have had to do would be change the code that they broadcasted and then go from there."

"So there'll likely be a couple of messages from the droids to here then?"

"Possibly. Grab those too, just in case, but you'll need to go back as far as you can." She glanced towards the cockpit, letting out a breath before moving forwards to complete her part of the job.

Naruto waited silently, eyeing the area around him. The ship's interior was quite a bit more complex than he'd imagined it to be. When he'd been told that someone had hijacked their ships, he'd imagined pirates flying around in something rundown, decrepit, and possibly stank from the people on board. This ship felt more like a yacht; luxurious, comfortable, and was lined with rather sophisticated technology. Either this ship had been stolen by pirates as well, or there was something more to it than he'd thought.

Hearing the systems beginning to power on, he slid the data card into the communications port and began to download everything he could. Almost as soon as he did so, he felt the Force warn him to watch the holoprojector. Stunned, and caught off guard by the command, his eyes snapped upwards, waiting for the images to be played back as they were recorded onto the data card.

The first group of images were of battle droids, giving updates on their progress and he caught bits and pieces of some 'location they were looking for. Every so often, some other people would show up to give mindless ramblings about some Offworld Mining Corporation that was growing from activities that the owner of the ship had likely made. Feeling the presence of the Force continue to point towards the holoprojector, he bit his lip and waited.

Then, the image became obscured, and fuzzy. This one wasn't like the others, which had been far more easily run back; this one was a coded message. Feeling the Force edging him to act now, he found himself jumping to the keyboard. His eyes darted across the keyboard, hands flying to hit them in an order he didn't know, but that the Force guided him through with the aid of psychometry. When he'd hit the last one, the recording sharpened, and Naruto stared wide eyed as the image refocused into the form of a Hutt.

The image said something in Huttenesse, which caused Naruto to curse at his lack of understanding. Thankfully, this hadn't been a message, so much as it had been an actual conversation, and another voice replied to the Hutt. _"And greetings to you as well Walla. How goes your business with Dreddon?"_

The Hutt said something back, looking rather cross which caused Naruto to swallow heavily. _"Now Wallanooga, you know I wouldn't be asking if there weren't something for us both to gain from it. Besides, I hear you have some of the best assassins in the Outer Rim. I'd be a fool to try and cross you here in Republic Space."_

Naruto blinked as the Hutt laughed at that, getting the impression that the Hutt found the response acceptable. As the Hutt replied again, he flinched when – despite the language barrier – he heard the Hutt say something that sounded almost too familiar.

"_I don't require any such assistance for the Anzati, or from your personal assassin. Though, from what you've said, seeing her in action against the Jedi that the Republic sent might be…fun."_

His breath hitched, eyes widening as he stepped back. It couldn't be; there was simply no way. And yet the Force urged him to stay, to watch, and to wait.

"_Regardless, it appears that your client was wrong so far. We've yet to find any presence of the artifact, or its supposed location. It's likely that someone else already came and took it before the planet was discovered."_ The Hutt seemed rather put off by this, but motioned for the person who'd transmitted from the ship to continue. _"We'll be leaving the planet shortly, thought I do need to deal with the Wookiees on the planet before too long. They're beginning to get to close to one of my locations, and I'd rather they didn't find any of these droids before I'm finished. After all, with all the ore that I've gathered, it'd be a shame to waste it due to them catching us at one of the sites."_

The Hutt nodded in agreement, saying something more which caused a short silence between them. Almost as though sensing how uncomfortable the other person was, the Hutt barked at them, to Naruto sounding like they were demanding an answer. _"…of course. I have not forgotten the debt I owe. I'll send them there to meet up with my dealer as soon as we're done. It shouldn't take more than three months for us to finish scrubbing the identification plates and allow you to sell them to the highest bidder."_

The Hutt said something more, and Naruto got the impression that the next words were said through grit teeth. _"Of course. I'd be _happy_ to have them assist. I'll see them there."_

The transmission cut off sharply there, likely from the person hanging up, and the next one that came on was another battle droid. Naruto ignored the conversation as his mind went over the transmission he'd just seen.

It…didn't make sense to him. What would a Hutt want with one of the Inner Rim worlds? And for that matter, why had they stolen from the Trade Federation? Perhaps, most important of all, were the three parts of the conversation that had stood out to Naruto.

The first had been the name of the Hutt; Walla. Apparently the Hutt had thought himself secure enough that he didn't need to hide his name from the person he employed, which meant that whoever this person was, they were working for him. A strange thought to Naruto, but one that he figured they could use later.

The second was the last part. While he couldn't understand Huttenesse, he got the basic understanding that the Hutt had told him of a drop point. There was somewhere that the Hutt had told him the person would send something – likely the droids – and from there they'd sell the droids to someone else. This would be invaluable in tracking them down, and with the last bit Naruto was practically biting at the bit to get his hands on the location.

The reason was the last part. It had been only for a brief moment, but it had also been the only thing he'd understood of what the Hutt had said. It wasn't Huttenesse; it was a name. A name he'd burnt into his memory to ensure he never forgot it.

Aurra Sing.

She was there, or somewhere near where the Hutt was. Which meant that if they found where the Hutt was they'd hopefully be able to find her.

Naruto's eyes darted back to the screen, seeing the Hutt's form on the screen again. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists tightly, he found himself growling softly. Even though the Hutt couldn't hear him, he whispered softly to the image, "I swear Walla. I will find you, and I _will_ get Aurra back. That's a promise you Hutt slime, and I don't' go back on my word."

"Naruto, get a hold of yourself."

Blinking rapidly, Naruto realized that as he'd been staring at the Hutt his master had come into the room. She looked at him worriedly, and he realized that he'd also been losing the defensive barrier he'd made for her to help protect her from the holocron. Reaching out, he quickly reestablished it, sighing softly as he forced himself to calm down. "Sorry master…I got carried away."

"It's alright Naruto…" She glanced between him and the image, frowning when she saw the form of the Hutt. "Is this who hired them? This…can't be right. What would a Hutt need with this area?"

"Ore." Naruto muttered, remembering that the person had mentioned a shipment being gathered. "He said something about ore being gathered to be taken to…some off world mining place."

An'ya narrowed her eyes, mind thinking quickly as she took in the information Naruto had just said. "Off world…you don't mean Offworld do you? The mining corporation?"

"Huh? Um, yeah that sounds right." Naruto blinked, realizing that his master's expression had shifted to a far more troubled look. "Um, why?"

"Because we need to finish up here and get back to Qui-gon and the Wookiees as soon as possible." She turned to the cockpit, marching forwards to begin powering it up.

Naruto followed after her, eyes wide as he realized what she was doing. "Wait, what's going on?"

Glancing back, her eyes hardened as the ship powered on. "Qui-gon is in danger, and we need to hurry."

x-=-x

Standing on top of the hill, the shadowed figure's face morphed into a smirk of victory as he watched the Wookiees attempt to combat the fire. While they weren't supposed to interfere personally, so as to keep all suspicions on the Trade Federation, they couldn't help but come to this point to at the very least watch.

The destruction came with a wave of chaotic energy, destruction of the forest and injuries to the Wookiees who were trying in vain to defend their newest colony. The very destruction of even a single area could be devastating, and even better was the fact that the forests of Alaris Prime were similar to that of Kashyyyk in that they were closely weaved together, meaning that as soon as several trees caught fire, they began spreading all to easily.

As they continued to watch the events unfold, he chuckled as he watched their hopeless attempts to quell the raging flames. Soon though, their expression shifted, eyes widening as two more people entered his vision from binoculars he had been using to watch the fire. Two people that they knew all too well.

Almost slamming the binoculars into the nearest droid, they marched towards the nearest STAP. "I want you to increase the fire, and divide them. I want a wall between me, and the two who I'll be drawing away. Make it fast. Do it now."

"Roger, roger." The droids said, watching as they jumped onto the STAP and rocketed down the slope of the hill towards the flames location.

Their eyes burned brightly in the dark of the night, allowing them a sense of sight that allowed them to see each oncoming tree. With reflexes beyond that of any human or droid, they wove their way through, heading as quickly as possible towards their intended prey.

Upon reaching a suitable location, they stopped and leapt from their location. While they'd remained silent thus far, with the realization that it was _him_ who was leading the Wookiees, they couldn't stand by any longer. Unveiling themselves from their Force Cloak, they allowed their presence to be felt like a beacon of the dark side in the Force.

It took a while for the Jedi to respond, which gave the droids they'd called to follow enough time to catch up. Staring into the darkness, they grinned widely as they saw two figures making their way towards where they stood.

Almost as soon as they reached the clearing, the area behind them was filled with the hollow stepped clank of droids. The two whirled around, igniting their lightsabers to engage them, only to find that they weren't focused on them. Instead, they were too busy setting fire to the trees and foliage between them and the Wookiees.

"You should be more aware of my presence, rather than the droids." Their voice was heavy, the dark side deepening his normally charming and persuasive voice.

The two Jedi returned their gaze to him, green and blue lightsabers glowing in the darkness. The older of the two, the man with the green lightsaber, oh how he knew his face all too well. Throwing back his hood, allowing his ill-looking sulfuric yellow eyes to pierce the clearing, he stepped slowly closer to the fire to allow his face to be seen. His long dark hair flowed in the soot filled wind, and the light of the fires behind them allowed him to see the most defining feature on his face; the scar of a broken circle.

"Xanatos." Qui-gon said softly, eyes staring at him in disbelief.

"Hello, my old _master_." He hissed with a grin. Glancing to the young man beside him, he chuckled softly. "And hello Obi-wan. Tell me, how is my former apprentice doing? I'd imagine he's doing well in such…capable hands as the Jedi's."

"Bruck's gone." Obi-wan said slowly, not sure if Qui-gon would approve of him saying anything more than that.

"He is? Good. It'd be better to be lost to the stars than to remain around the treacherous Jedi. You on the other hand," Shaking his head, he sighed theatrically as he stared at Obi-wan. "You continue to make the same mistakes Obi-wan. Still, I suppose that my presence in the temple did give me one last advantage."

Reaching into his cloak with is black gloved right hand, he pulled out a lightsaber. Thumbing the activation switch, the two Jedi flinched as instead of the normal blue lightsaber they'd dueled against six years previous, a scarlet red blade emerged from the hilt.

"After losing my lightsaber in the Temple, I was finally forced to make a…upgrade. Now, come!"

Lunging forwards, he began his next engagement with his long awaited Jedi opponents.

* * *

><p>AN: Ah, I love it when the plot begins rolling together. Time to duel with our mysterious shadow leader, and finish up the Alaris Prime arc in the next couple of chapters.<p>

While not a question, I would like to address something Booo (an anonymous reviewer) said. In answer to your request, I'm going to have to respectfully decline. While longer chapters _are_ more fun to read, and they do give a lot more weight to the story, it throws me off with my writing. By ending it here, I'm able to take a breather, and gather my thoughts for each part to help me continue. It also allows me to post faster, which means you get to see the story progress in leaps and bounds rather than sitting here for years without update. Plus, because of this method, I've been able to post 27 chapters with 150 K words in less than a month. So, yeah, I'm going to continue this method, since it works for me. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but that's how I'll be posting.

So, with that said, I'll see you all on the next chapter of **From Darkness**!


	28. Chapter 28

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The battle droids stood at attention, waiting for their commander's return so that they could be shipped off Alaris Prime and sent to who knows where, and be given their next objective. Neither of them were too concerned about what would happen tonight, and except for one moment where one of them had believed its sensors had heard something, the night had been going along quite smoothly.<p>

This process of thought was quickly shut off though when they heard the whir of their commander's vessel's engines beginning to power on. Glancing to one another, they walked over and leaned their heads around the carrier curiously. There were no running lights, or anything to indicate that the vessel was on.

"…go check it out." The first droid muttered. The second droid made something akin to a shrugging motion, walking around the ship and began heading towards the vessel.

It barely made it two steps before the lights came on full blast and the ship's propulsion lifted it off the ground. While it was clearly not meant to make the maneuver so close to the carrier, whoever was piloting it seemed to have no qualms about trying anyways. Almost scraping the wing as it rose from the ground, it lurched forwards as its sublight drives kicked in and launched it out from underneath the carrier, missing the droids, but blowing them away with the now fast leaving ship.

The two droids slowly rolled over and stared up as the ship rocketed away from them. If they had expressions, it would likely be that of disbelief and confusion on their faces as they turned and looked to one another.

"…told you I heard something."

"Shut up." The second droid muttered, picking itself up as it raced back to the carrier in an attempt to alert their commander that his ship had been stolen.

"We are so fired." The first droid muttered, following after the other droid.

Onboard the ship, An'ya eased off the throttle as she tried to ease the ship around to where she could most easily get the ship near the fire. Behind her, Naruto was gripping a railing, holding on for dear life as he'd been caught off balance by how quickly they'd rocketed forwards.

"What was that?" Naruto shouted with eyes wide as he tried to remain upright."

"Evasive maneuvers. I don't want the droids getting a lock on us with any anti-air or tracking us before we can land and move in." She replied, trying her best to navigate with the unfamiliar landscape before her. The control layout was simple enough, but with how many maneuvers she needed to make just to land the ship now that they'd taken it without adding more damage and destruction to the forest, it would be rather tricky.

"Are you sure? It felt like you were trying to send me back to the ramp." Naruto replied, feeling his arms shaking as he tried to hold on despretely.

"Actually that's a great idea, go back there and wait for my signal." An'ya said, pushing a few buttons as she finally found a clearing on the readout. Thankfully the droids had done a fairly good job at their mapping out of the planet, and there were a couple of clearings that were big enough that she could land in that were close enough to the fire.

"Are you _crazy?!_" Naruto asked, though he found himself moving to the back regardless. Pulling out his comlink, he spoke to her as he got too far away to be heard normally. "Why am I heading back to the ramp?"

"Because I'm _not_ letting you get into another battle with a Dark Jedi." She replied with a scowl. "Last time you did, I ended up with a man in the hospital with a lost leg and you almost died."

Naruto was silent for a moment, and from his connection that made the barrier guarding her from the holocron, she could sense he was silently agreeing with her. "…okay. What do you want me to do then?"

"I'm going to let you jump off near the Wookiees. Help them put out the fire, and stay close to them. There might be some battle droids still wandering around, but most important at the moment we don't want this fire spreading further than it's already gotten. Are we clear?"

"Yes master."

"Good, because we're at your stop." She flipped a switch that allowed her to drop the ramp from the cockpit, hearing Naruto yelp into his comlink as some of the smoke tried to curl into the ship. Keeping it level, she waited until she felt his presence leave the ship before moving towards the next clearing, picking up the comlink again. "Don't lose focus Naruto, I still need your help here too."

"Don't worry Master, I've still got it." He replied, the barrier still standing strong despite their distance. In fact, it was almost like, "I left a clone on board to help keep it up just in case."

Glancing back, she smiled at the clone who was giving her a thumb's up. "Good boy Naruto. Now," Whipping the ship around, she quickly landed it and raced towards the ramp herself. "Let's go give that man a visit."

x-=-x

Qui-gon was caught flatfooted. For six years, he'd kept his ear to the ground, kept his eyes open, and reached out for his old apprentice. After his defeat in the temple, and after the many failures he'd made, he'd almost hoped that Xanatos had decided to disappear; to leave the galaxy alone, and to find a place where he could find peace.

Sadly, looking at the yellow eyes and red blade, he knew that wasn't the case. His apprentice had fallen much, much further down the path into the dark side and had fully enveloped himself in his hatred. His hatred of the Jedi, his hatred of those who opposed him and had taken that which he'd held so dearly, and perhaps most painfully of all, he his hatred of Qui-gon. Those feelings, running deep and painful through him, could be felt by both Jedi as they met his blade. With each strike the energy grew, and with each reengagement, the clearing became more permeated with the dark energy.

To make matters worse, Qui-gon also discovered that Xanatos had not been idle in his swordsmanship either. He'd once lectured the man on his footwork, as he tried to mesh Makashi and Ataru to form a style that would allow him to fight Qui-gon without sacrificing his ability to deflect blaster bolts. Now, his footwork was impeccable, dancing and whirling between the two Jedi with small jabs and parries that kept them both at bay and on the defensive. He rarely went airborne, keeping both feel firmly placed where he could control the battle, making the pace his to control.

It also appeared that he'd become quite adept with his new hand as well. The black glove clearly covered the arm he'd lost during his attack on the temple, but from how he moved it was like he'd never lost it to begin with. Still, there were times where the saberlocks came dangerously close to it before he'd shove them back. From the dark look on his face, Qui-gon felt that there was something he was hiding behind those maneuvers, perhaps a way of taunting him. If there was one thing Xanatos enjoyed it was having the upper hand against his enemies, and then begin able to taunt them with it.

Swinging high with his next strike, Xanatos batted the saber away, swinging the blade around quickly to do the same with Obi-wan's before coming back up to block his strike once more. Not once did he lose track of where the two of them were, and not once did he allow them the pleasure of backing him into a corner or place where they could change tactics.

Qui-gon considered their options. It was clear that Xanatos had been doing quite a bit more practicing with his saber techniques than they had while he was gone, but then it seemed he was forcing them to stay in the open area so as to not be closed in. The issue was, both he and Obi-wan were both practitioners of Ataru as well, which meant _they_ wanted the open area almost as much as he wanted it. However, if they wanted a chance at disarming him, they'd have to be more patient, and more careful with how they struck out at him.

Wearing him down was not a possibility he wanted to chance. With the dark side of the Force strongly enveloping him, there was a chance that he'd simply use the battle to feed his hatred and allow himself to never tire, always pushing forwards and relentlessly attacking. However, that anger was their best bet at defeating him. With anger came a certain sloppiness in one's form, one that could be exploited.

And, after they locked blades once more, Qui-gon saw it. Stepping back, he allowed Obi-wan to strike again at Xanatos' left side, where he'd have to block it before bringing his own blade down. In his mind's eye, he could remember when Xanatos used this same strategy against him when he and Feemor had dueled him; Xanatos had convinced Feemor to attack his left side, and then had moved in to defeat Qui-gon. Now, it would be he who disarmed him, and once more he'd lose the arm he'd lost before to the Jedi.

As his lightsaber came down on his arm, there was a hiss and a silence between the three of them as the Jedi's eyes widened. Then, Qui-gon's lightsaber shorted out, and Xanatos turned on his heel and backhanded the man with a loud, scratchy laughter. Obi-wan shouted for Qui-gon, startled and confused, which gave Xanatos ample time to turn and grab the boy with the Force, moving him back with a choke hold around his throat so that he couldn't reach him with his lightsaber.

"You Jedi…are _still_ so worthless." Xanatos barked out, staring at the stumbling Qui-gon. Bringing his hand to his mouth, he bit on the glove as he removed it, showing them his mechanical hand. "Cortosis plating. It cost me a small fortune to get a couple of outlaw technicians to make this, and a small fortune more to get the material, but after that…ah, it was so worth it."

Qui-gon stood slowly, making sure to keep his eyes on Xanatos the entire time. The man's expression held no remorse, no sense of good that had occasionally flickered across his face in the past. His padawan had truly left him completely now, consumed by the creature before him.

"Not a step closer or my replacement gets it." Xanatos said, pointing his lightsaber at Obi-wan. "Throw it away, or I will kill him. Throw your lightsaber away, now."

Qui-gon found himself frowning at that, but slowly tossed his lightsaber away. Staring at Xanatos, he grit his teeth as he tried to think of something to help alleviate the situation. "Xanatos, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Xanatos asked, his left hand clenching tightly. Obi-wan choked out softly, his lightsaber having fallen to the ground as he tried to claw at his throat to rid himself of the invisible force around it. "I want to make you suffer and am clearly not taking advantage of the situation as it presented itself. What did you _think_ I came here for?"

Qui-gon was silent, sensing that he needed to tread carefully as he spoke to Xanatos. "If you're looking to make me suffer let Obi-wan go. You can do whatever you want with me, but he has nothing to do with this."

"No, he didn't. Not in the beginning, when he had nothing to do with my vendetta. But now, he's more than just a part of it." He twisted his hand slowly, Obi-wan's breath coming out in shorter, and more stressed gasps. "He's instrumental. If I want to hurt you, there are so many different possibilities, but Obi-wan…Obi-wan is where you're most vulnerable. He's your weakness, and he's how I can hurt your most."

"Please…" Qui-gon pleaded, already knowing that he'd given himself away. His vulnerability was apparent, and clear to Xanatos who smirked at him.

"Oh don't worry I won't be killing him outright. That would be unnecessary." Turning his head again, Obi-wan got one deep breath before his breath was once more cut short. "I'm going to do this slowly, with you watching, until you break. You killed my father, you and the Jedi took everything from me, and now, I'm going to take the only thing you care –" Before he could finish, his eyes rose upwards, narrowing as a shadow passed over them. "What in the world?"

Qui-gon took advantage of the moment of distraction, rushing forwards and tackled Xanatos. Knocking his old apprentice down and his lightsaber away from him, he grappled with him as he tried to keep him from getting a chance to attack his padawan again. He knew that if he gave Xanatos even a couple of seconds, there wouldn't be anything he could do to stop him.

Xanatos glared and wrestled back against Qui-gon, gritting his teeth as he tried to wrest himself from Qui-gon's grip. Qui-gon had to struggle as he tried to keep Xanatos from getting free, especially his right arm as the cybernetics gave him an edge that if he allowed him a moment. He could hear Obi-wan coughing nearby him, trying to get his breath back, struggling to get on his feet so that he could help Qui-gon.

Before he could pin Xanatos down, he heard a growl of frustration and felt the Force build up within Xanatos. With a shout of rage, Xanatos let the Force explode from his body, launching Qui-gon off of him. Jumping to his feet, Xanatos hissed as he reached out and called his lightsaber back to his hand. Marching towards Qui-gon, the dreadful activation of his lightsaber was the only indication that let Qui-gon know that he was soon to be attacked.

Shortly before he got to him, the second ignition of a lightsaber and the skidding of someone sliding in front of him alerted him that Xanatos had been stopped. The hiss of two lightsabers colliding and the growl of Xanatos filled the air, giving Qui-gon a chance to try and pick himself up.

"You!"

"Hello foolish boy."

That voice. Qui-gon knew that voice. Before he finished getting up, Obi-wan filled him in on who had arrived. "Dark Woman?!"

Turning his head to his defender, he blinked as he saw the violet and red blades interlocked near him. Reaching out, he called his lightsaber over to himself, trying to activate it to help her. Gritting his teeth as his lightsaber was still shorted out, as he clipped it to his belt he heard a shot from Obi-wan seconds before he turned and caught his padawan's lightsaber. With the ignition of the blue lightsaber, he moved forwards and reengaged his apprentice.

"So I wasn't wrong, you _didn't_ come here alone." Xanatos said, trying to keep up his bravado. Despite this, his surprise and shock at seeing her slide in was clear and present. "And even better, it's you, the one who stood before me all those years ago."

"And now I stand before you again." The Dark Woman said, her ornate lightsaber blurring into motion as she struck out and reengaged with him. Moving in tandem besides Qui-gon, the battle suddenly began shifting in the Jedi's favor once again.

Xanatos' eyes darted between them warily, trying to work on a way to get out of this situation. Gritting his teeth, he shifted into a defensive stance. He was angry, he was going to strike them down, but he had to be patient. He needed to focus. But his anger was simply too strong.

Roaring loudly, his blade became a blur of motion and destruction. The dark side's envelopment of his body sharpened, becoming destruction, overwhelming strength flowing through his bones as he lashed out at them. His rage, his anger, his fury. Every piece of his body became infused with the dark side, and in doing so, both Jedi were pushed backward violently.

Turning to them, eyes glowing like a demon unchained, he reached out his hand to Qui-gon's lightsaber and ripped it from his belt. Holding the pair of lightsabers in his hands, he growled as he channeled the dark side into Qui-gon's lightsaber, forcing it to activate with the blade flickering in his grip. Shifting into a Jar'Kai stance, he spun on his heels, using his primary Ataru form to beat the two Jedi back.

Neither of the Jedi had encountered this technique before, and the maelstrom of hatred in the Force, this Force Rage, threw them for a loop. However, each of them bounced back faster than some others might've, as they both were able to find their place in the Force besides each other once more. Blocking and weaving around him, the four colors of the blades interwoven in a dance that illuminated the darkness.

On the sidelines, Obi-wan watched in shock as he tried to understand what he was watching. Silently, he burnt the image of this man, this Dark Jedi who was holding off two masters. Albeit, he was just barely keeping them at bay, and he could feel the strain on Xanatos' body from the Force technique he was using. He promised himself he'd never forget this moment, and silently hoped he'd never get into such a troublesome situation again.

x-=-x

After Naruto hit the ground, he bolted in the direction of the Wookiees. The fire had built up rapidly, and had consumed a large part of the trees in his field of vision. He'd been hit by the smoke when they'd flown just a bit too close to the fire, and he wanted it taken care of almost as much as the Wookiees wanted it gone.

Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and sighed as he allowed himself to focus completely on the world around him, letting his clone take over for his previous job. Drawing on strength from the Force, he launched himself into the trees. Landing deftly on the branch, he shot through the trees, the Force allowing him to dodge and weave through the complex interweaving of branches as he shot towards his destination.

As he landed close to where he felt the Wookiees had gathered, he felt the heat of the flames growing hotter. Trying to think of what he could do, he figured that there might be some things he could do with the Force to try and curb the fire away from them. Nodding, he grinned as he leapt to join the Wookiees down below.

Upon leaping from his position, he yelped as the area where he'd been was suddenly blasted from beneath him, the branch below him exploding. Rolling to his feet, his eyes snapped wildly to seek out the source of it. Not wanting to risk it, it dove to the side to duck behind a tree. He was rewarded with more blaster fire as the spot where he'd been was shot up. Wincing, he took a deep breath and tried to refocus, calm himself and keep from panicking. As he was doing so, he heard blaster fire from in front of him, green bolts rushing past him and slammed into the tree behind him.

Yelping, Naruto covered his head, trying to make sure he was safe despite the fact that he was _clearly_ not. Growling and more enraged shouts came from where the green bolt had come from, and Naruto got the feeling he'd accidentally gotten into the middle of a firefight between the Wookiees and the droids. While he was more than happy to help them, he needed to get out from behind the tree first and foremost.

Turning his head, he shouted again as the tree right next to him exploded violently again, bark spraying through the air with several pieces scratching against his hands and face as he brought them up to help protect his eyes from being damaged. Wincing, he heard more shouting from his side and pushed himself back as he tried to keep himself from being shot. His eyes were in danger from the bark, his body was in danger from everything else, and the only thing he could trust was the Force.

Reaching out, he groaned as he remembered that droids didn't have a life signature in the Force, which meant that he wasn't able to find where the droids were. He could sense the Wookiees just fine, but that didn't help him much when the ones he was scared of.

Looking upward, he grimaced as he thought about leaping up to get to where he could get above where the blaster fire wouldn't be able to reach him. Right as he thought of that, another green bolt blasted the branch before he could even begin to reach out and try to get it.

"Okay, not going to try that." He muttered, shuddering silently. "So, I just need to…what?" Leaning back, he growled and clenched his eyes shut. "Ugh! Stupid droids making things difficult!"

Deciding he'd had enough, he threw his hands back and sent a wave of Force energy in the direction of the droids, creating a bit of a stir between them. Throwing himself in the other direction, he began running as quickly as he could away from them. The blaster fire began turning in his direction, but it also stopped coming as frequently from the Wookiees side.

Leaping up into the trees once more, he once more began making his way away from the battlefield. He was _not_ getting in the middle of this, and besides that he was pretty sure his master would be very upset if he intentionally got into the middle of this. Thankfully, he had another option.

As he leapt from one tree to the next, he suddenly realized something was very wrong. The heat was feeling far more intense despite the fact he was moving away from where he'd last seen the fire. Breaking through the trees, he could feel his whole body flinch as he saw the inferno before him. Landing one of the inflamed branches, he flinched as he heard the branch beneath him crack loudly, and felt it break seconds before it dropped him down to the ground below.

Landing roughly, he caught himself with the Force and kept himself from getting dropped onto his face. Snapping his head up, he saw the tree as it groaned and began crashing down on him, pushed forwards by the other trees that were being falling over as well throughout the forest. From what he could see, the fire had spread in one direction, and then someone had set another fire that had met up somewhere around here and the fire had gathered somewhere around this point and the blaze had interlocked the two fires and built it up.

Before the tree could fall on him, Naruto felt something grab the back of his shirt and yank him roughly backwards. Thrown through the air, Naruto winced as he broke through the foliage and heard the tree hit the ground with a titanic crash. Rumbling to the ground, he winced as he slowly began picking himself up to look to where he'd been thrown.

Moving towards him with the fire at his back, the large shadowed and hairy form of one of the Wookiees moved towards him. Wincing as he tried to see who it was, his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Atti…um…Atti…gah, Itchy!"

The old Wookiee chuckled softly as he stepped forwards and ruffling Naruto's hair. {Young ones shouldn't run into forest fires. What were you doing over here?}

Naruto, not understanding what he said, laughed nervously. "Um, yeah…I don't know?" Glancing between where he was and where the Wookiees were, he shrugged slowly. "I just…came here to help, and then I got shot at, and then I ran into a fire and…and…" Naruto rubbed his forehead. "It's not been a good night."

Attichitcuk grunted in agreement. The night had gone to hell once they'd reached the fire. While it had begun fairly well curbing the fire, they'd come under fire shortly after when they'd found the battle droids who'd been setting the fires. They'd believed they could take them without any issue, only to find that another group had shown up to set a second fire, and as soon as they'd done so turned and took aim at their group.

The Wookiees were hardy though, and with a rallying call from Chewbacca had dove for cover, saving several off them who almost missed the second group. The firefight was getting intense, and while Attichitcuk would be with them at the moment, he'd been one of the few who'd actually seen the poor boy hiding in the center of the assault. Leaving the group, and getting his son to help cover him, he'd gone after the boy. He was thankful he did, because if he hadn't he had a feeling that the boy would have been easily crushed by the falling tree.

Grabbing the boy's shoulder, he moved Naruto around to help guide him around back to where they'd be able to meet up with the Wookiees. Even if the worst thing happened, he'd be safer among them rather than wandering around on his own.

Grunting softly, he let his eyes roam the wroshyr trees slowly, their screams of pain echoing in the still of the night as he watched. It was truly a tragedy, and he found himself silently worried about this dark omen that now rested upon this world. What would become of it? They'd only come here to establish a colony, to have their system continue to be strengthened with the might of the Wookiees. And yet among the first things to happen was the mighty wroshyr trees had been lit ablaze.

Seeing his eyes wandering to the fire, Naruto gently pat his arm. "Don't worry, we'll get it."

Attichitcuk tried to smile at the boy's youthful optimism, but found himself still frowning regardless. He was old enough to remember similar fires on Kashyyyk, and to know of the pain some would suffer in the future should any of those in their colonist group fall to the blasters of the droids. Hardy they were, and vigilant they may be, but there were limits that even they were forced to face.

Sighing softly, he turned away from the fire to return to the group, needing to get rid of the droids before they could deal with the fire. Upon turning though, he heard the crack of wood beneath metal seconds before a blaster bolt shot through the trees and slammed into his leg. Bellowing in pain, he fell to his knee, gripping the wound tightly as a second bolt struck his shoulder and ricocheted off his bowcaster, dropping it to the ground.

Naruto yelped as he saw the attack, racing to the elder Wookiees side. "Itchy! What –" His eyes darted towards the foliage, hearing the approaching droids and he flinched. "Oh poodoo."

{Run boy!} Attichitcuk tried to tell him, but the boy's ignorance of his language meant that he didn't understand.

Instead, Naruto grabbed the Wookiee and had him lean against him as he tried to help him move away from the blaster fire. "Come on!"

Hobbling next to him, Attichitcuk silently admired the foolish though brave actions of the boy. With the wound on his leg, and without his bowcaster to fire back, they wouldn't be getting too far. Feeling the heat of the blaster bolts as they rocketed pasted them, he growled again. {Leave me boy, I'm weighing you down.}

"You do realize I still don't know what you're saying right?" Naruto said, shaking his head as he still valiantly made his way forwards. "So, even if you try telling me to leave you behind, I'm not gonna. Even if I have to drag your hairy butt back, I'm not leaving you behind. I'm a Jedi. I won't let those I can save be left behind to die when I can do something."

The confidence in his voice made Attichitcuk pause before attempting to rebuke him. He already knew what was most likely to happen, and he wished to face it head on. He had a fear of death, the same as anything living did, but much like how Naruto wasn't willing to allow someone to sacrifice themselves to save him, he didn't wish for someone – especially someone so young – to try to save him.

Hearing the droids clambering closer, he flinched when he heard a sharp intake of breath. The tree next to them burst with bark shrapnel that the two of them stumbled away from, barely having missed being shot. The next one though, didn't miss.

The shout of pain brought them both to their knees, blistering heat of the plasma searing Naruto's back as he lost his grip on Attichitcuk. His vision was slowly becoming hazy, and he stumbled to brace himself on a nearby tree. His breathing was heavy, and his vision was spotted as he tried to remain conscious.

Turning around, Naruto flinched seconds before a second bolt glanced past his stomach. A second shout of pain erupted from him, though thankfully the fatal second shot had missed. Falling onto his hands and knees, he stared down as his shaking hands helplessly, not knowing what he could do. The pain made it hard to use the Force, as it required concentration, and his lightsaber needed him to be able to _move_, which was inhibited by the wound to his back.

Looking up, the world around Naruto froze as he saw the battle droids approaching. For a second, they stepped forwards, their motions becoming slower and slower as one kept a blaster trained on him. His eyes were on the second one though, who moved to stand over Attichitcuk. It made a motion, which might've been it speaking, but Naruto heard only white noise.

His spotty vision suddenly was flooded by a sea of red. "_No…_" Naruto's words were hissed out, pain, anger, and frustration laced within them. His eyes were shadowed by his hair for a brief second before his head snapped up, and he glared at them with searing red eyes. A feral snarl slipped past his lips as he shouted. "No!"

The second droid snapped its attention towards him, recognizing him as a threat now. Both of them were speaking, but it didn't matter. He didn't want to hear it, and he couldn't hear it over the thunderous pounding roar of his heartbeat in the Force as he gathered all of the pain and anger into one point in the center of his chest.

Then, leaning back, he let out a scream that shook the world.

* * *

><p>AN: One thing I love about Naruto is that in his early years, he had some Hulk-like qualities. For example, you don't piss him off, or his appearance changes (slightly), he gets an increased healing factor, and he gets stronger the angrier he gets. In this case, we now have that…with a boy who can use the <em>Force.<em>

I'm going to let that sink in…

…okay, now we can continue with freaking the hell out about how royally _screwed_ the droids will be.

Of course that will have to be contained in its own chapter, so until then this has been a really super fun chapter of **From Darkness**.


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The dueling Jedi felt the shockwave of dark side energy as it burst across the clearing. The three of them froze up, eyes darting around as they tried to seek out the source of the energy. All of them could feel the emotions built into it; feeling of pain and anger that overwhelmed their senses.<p>

The fourth member of the duel on the other hand had a far different reaction. Still locked into Force Rage and enveloped in the power of the dark side, when the wave of someone else's dark side, pain, and anger washed over him his eyes lost focus. His entire body locked up and began shaking, breathing heavily as he stumbled back. Unlike the other three, he was able to see it; the dark side energies forming in his senses into the head of a giant, vulpine behemoth that turned and glared through the trees and stared directly at him.

He could see it, the desolation, the destruction, the shadow of destruction as it moved throughout the galaxy. It would chase him; it had caught his scent in the Force, and would never rest. The beast bore its fangs, razor edges seeming to rip the air as a second wave of energy washed over the clearing.

His hands gripped the lightsabers tightly as he tried to bring his mind back to the moment. He would deal with this unknown threat soon enough. For now, he had to attack the Jedi in front of him, drive them back, and leave as soon as he possibly could. This wasn't something that he could mess around with, especially now that he was no longer using Force Rage. His advantage was gone, and now as they turned their attentions back to him, he was forced to face them down.

Gritting his teeth, he slipped into a defensive stance in preparation for them to reengage. It was going to be a hard fight, and he needed to play much smarter if he wanted to even get away. Taking a deep breath, he moved in and began swinging once more.

x-=-x

His scream was feral, his scream was power, his scream spoke to the universe around him of his pain and rage. Most importantly though, he let it carry his power with it.

As such, neither of the droids were able to so much as flinch before the wave of Force energy from the Force Scream blew them backwards. The trees around him shook, with the ones nearest to him cracking and groaning from the strain. As his scream ended, his eyes focused on the droids, and he growled.

_Snap-hiss._

The droids slowly got back to their feet, trying to get their bearings after the staggering hit. Before the first one got to its feet, Naruto's lightsaber carved through the droids chest and split in half with ease, throwing the top half spiraling into the air even further. The second droid got to its feet, managing to bring its arms upward before the lightsaber threw in a spear-like manner that pinned it to the tree behind it.

Calling the lightsaber back to his hand, Naruto flipped it into a reverse grip as he growled darkly. Snapping his head to his right, he sensed the life signatures of the Wookiees, still fighting the droids. However, they were now at an impasse; all their eyes seemed to be looking directly in his direction, clearly having heard his scream. Despite not being able to see them, he could smell the burnt wood from where the plasma was burning into the wroshyr trees.

"I'm done with this." Naruto growled, the slits in his red eyes shrinking as it refocused into the darkness.

Coiling his legs beneath him, the power of the Force built and exploded through him. He gripped the Force tightly, channeling it and building it for a few seconds before it exploded beneath him. Launching into the trees, he bounded and launched himself from branch to branch, exploding through the trees as though he'd lived in them from the day of his birth.

Bursting into the clearing where the Wookiees were, he landed in the middle of them and stared into the trees, seeking out the shadowy forms of the droids. Before he could move, one of the Wookiees moved forwards, bowcaster aimed in his direction.

{Hold it! Who are you?}

Naruto's eyes turned to the Wookiee, getting no reaction from them as he growled. They didn't understand. They couldn't feel it; his pain, his anger.

So he'd make them.

The Wookiees in the clearing all winced as they suddenly felt all of his emotions wash over them, several of them going so far as to grab their backs in pain. The one in front of him almost dropped his bowcaster in shock from the sudden influx of information. He would not be alone in this, he would not be ignored.

Before he could continue forcing them to feel his emotions, his head snapped towards the sound of the droids moving through the undergrowth becoming far more important than the Wookiees. He hated droids. He. _Hated._ Droids.

Snarling, he dug his feet into the ground and launched himself into the forest. He could hear the static filled voices of the droids surrounding him, but with his lightsaber in hand he didn't care. He didn't want to have to deal with droids shooting him in the back like they'd done before, and this time he would tear into them with the wrath of a rancor unchained.

Slamming into the first droid, he could hear it stuttering out in confusion before he spun his blade up and split its head in two. Eyeing another droid turning towards him, he threw his lightsaber once more, letting it arc through the first one before directing it to another. It was a useful tool, and it did have its purpose he didn't need it; he was power incarnate.

Hearing another droid step forwards, he dug his feet into the ground and disappeared. No droid was capable of keeping up, or calculating what had just happened. It was likely that there weren't many single unit battle droid processors that _could_ keep up with this speed. They were meant to fight single units, and to fight in armies. Fighting a single opponent that was capable of accelerating from standing still to a speed no droid had ever seen an entity of flesh and blood move at before.

The droid turned in the direction it initially heard Naruto move from, only to have Naruto within its guard and a fist punching straight through its chest. Twitching slightly, its photoreceptors stared into the blood red eyes of Naruto as he snarled and ripped his arm out of it. The dark red energy of the Force coated his fist, slowly fading as Naruto called his lightsaber back to his hand.

Eyes darting from the next three droids, his eyes narrowed. Taking a deep breath, he focused his pain into another Force filled bellow. The shockwave of energy ripped up the ground before him, slamming into the droids and knocking them one after another further and further away from him.

Scowling at the destruction in front of him, he snorted and glanced around. There were more here, he knew that. However, his mind wasn't going over the _how_ of destroying them. It was still at the point of simply knowing that he _could_ and that by knowing he could the method didn't matter. As such, when he heard one of the beginning to shoot at him, this time he was ready for them.

Unlike with a regular, full length lightsaber, a shoto had a few advantages that it could boast of. It was more concealable, less bulky, a lighter weight, and in many ways could be used just as effectively while giving the user the free hand they wanted. In this case, Naruto was doing more than simply utilizing these gifts; he was becoming a storm of energy with it.

Letting it roll across his fingers, deflected several of the blaster bolts directly down to the ground at his feet. With his style not mean necessarily for blocking or deflecting blaster bolt, or for any kind of swordplay, that didn't matter at the moment. All he needed was to keep himself from getting shot, and focus his anger on the area around the droids. They needed to go down, and if down was where he wanted them, then why not bring it to them?

Clenching his hand into a fist, the energy of the ground beneath their feet began to pool in his grasp. Glaring with all the hatred he could muster, he punched his fist violently into the ground, burying his fist into the dirt. From several points, one could hear the yelp and confused warbling of a droid as he blasted the ground from beneath them. Repeating the action, he continued several more times before scowling as he could no longer tell where the rest were.

The last ones were either smarter and had decided not to shoot at him, or were further away and hadn't caught on to his droid destruction. Still, if they were in the forest, he'd find them.

Pausing in his search, his eyes rested on the inferno burning in the distance. Fire was bad, wasn't it? He knew how it worked, and his mind told him that there was something about the fire he was supposed to remember. He…was supposed to put it out wasn't he? But he didn't have any water, and there wasn't any nearby, so how was he supposed to put it out?

"_Smother it. Crush it beneath your heels."_

"_Yeah, that could work."_ Naruto's thoughts were fast, incoherent, and violent. His adrenaline was pounding louder in his ears, and while he was beginning to refocus just a bit, there was still enough energy and rage in him that he was willing to stand by this idea.

Stomping his foot into the ground, he shook his head as he tried to lift the dirt beneath his feet. It was to ridged, annoyingly stubborn and attempting to be immovable. However, the ground had not yet discovered what kind of unstoppable force he truly was. After all, he was just getting started.

Finding his center, he concentrated on his anger and began moving through the basic alchaka forms. The reason for this was that alchaka utilized circular motions, attempting to make the user dizzy or off balanced so that they'd be forced to reach out and connect to the Force to help keep themselves from falling over. In this case, Naruto was using the form as a way of grabbing the dirt, rocks, and dust around him to gather it around himself into a maelstrom.

It began small, but with each move of his feet more and more built around him. As his arms rose towards the sky, more and more dirt began rising and ascending until a large portion of the planet's surface beneath him was in his hands and under his control. It became a tornado that far surpassed the treetops, towering over the fire, and a sight that would be spoken of amongst the Wookiees of Alaris Prime for many years to come.

For the droids of the moment though, the tornado soon became a realization for them; destruction was coming for them. One of them had a brief moment to see the boy in the epicenter of it and see the dark look on his face before it happened. Because with a simple push of his hands, a flick of the power he held, the tornado stumbled, and fell.

The resulting crash was monstrous. Dirt and dust slammed into the wildfire and upon impact exhausted every part that it touched. For the part that wasn't directly hit by the landslide, the billowing dirt that followed cut off a great deal of the oxygen for long enough that the fire began to die. It wasn't enough to extinguish all of it, but it left the once troubling wildfire as little more than a few lit trees that struggled to hold onto life as they the fires that connected them to the rest of their fuel disappeared.

Unfortunately, not all of the droids died in the crash. Many of them were directly in the way, and the dirt that fell on them crushed their durasteel plating, leaving them completely buried and useless. There were a few though that survived, hiding behind trees and waiting it out.

As the dust began to fall upon the forest, their eyes glowed faintly, trying to find one another to regroup. "Okay, what was that?"

"I dunno. Looked like some kind of tornado." One of them said, lifting its blaster rifle defensively.

"Felt like an avalanche." Another said, having not been as lucky as the others and missing an arm. Looking around, it saw another one of their ranks jogging towards them. "Hey, over here!"

The droid seemed to see them and began changing direction to meet up with them, only for a dark shadow to slam into it. It barely let out a startled yelp before all that they could hear was a dreadful crunching sound, followed by sparks and the ominous 'death rattle' of the droids as something ripped into it. Hesitantly moving forwards, the three droids made their way over to their fallen ally.

None of them saw it coming. They only heard the reigniting of the lightsaber before it was suddenly stabbing the first one through the back. By the time the second had turned, the lightsaber had been deactivated and Naruto had vanished from his position into the dust. The second droid wasn't as lucky, as instead it got a faintly red-coated fist punching through its chest cavity, causing it to twitch and whine softly as it was destroyed. The final one turned, straight into the final activation of his lightsaber as he reached around the second droid, using it like a shield so that he could attack the final one safely.

"Well…that sucks…" The final droid managed to get out as Naruto had it just below its power core before he flicked his wrist upwards and split it in half.

Deactivating his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt, Naruto slowly looked around at the decimation and destruction he'd wrecked. Blinking slowly, he began to sway ever so slightly as a wave of nausea and exhaustion washed over him, and he fell to his knees. His eyes slowly began to fade back to their normal blue, and the whisker marks on his cheeks softened.

Coughing roughly, he had to breathe heavily as he tried to keep himself from hurling. "Okay…super spinning…not fun."

Flinching, he shakily pushed himself to his feet as he looked around. Waving his hand, he had to take a few seconds to make sure he didn't breathe in the dust. Pulling his shirt over his nose, he warily looked around as he caught up with what had just happened.

"Whoa. That was bigger than I expected." He muttered, shaking his head as he tried to push the fuzzy feeling out of his head.

Making his way back towards the Wookiees, he winced as he remembered what he'd done. He felt really bad for what he'd done, and he decided to try to make it up to the Wookiees somehow. Forcing them to feel what he'd been feeling at that moment was something he hadn't thought about doing, he'd just…done it.

Pausing in mid step, he glanced to his side with a frown. It still stung quite a bit, but after a shot like that he shouldn't have been able to walk. In fact, most of the strenuous alchaka maneuvers he'd done should have been impossible due to the stress it would have put on his back. If things had been as they should've, he should've ripped open his back upon trying to leap through the trees.

Looking at it now, he'd have thought the wound was one he'd had quite a while ago, perhaps what it should've looked like after a few days in a bacta tank at least. The skin felt like it'd been pulled multiple times, which meant that was where the continual pain had come from. Thankfully it was only from the skin, and not from his insides as if it had been it would have meant that his body was still suffering internal damage. From what he'd heard about blasters, many of their damage ranged from grazing shots to at least second degree burns. That kind of damage to his internal organs would have killed him, and yet here he was, up and walking as though he'd just been burnt and nothing more.

Which was impossible. Even with how he'd felt, now that he'd calmed down, he'd suddenly realized that he _shouldn't_ have walked away from the first shot. Each and every thing he'd done had happened so fast, but now he realized that it likely was longer than he'd thought; a few minutes at least. Building up the power to snuff out an inferno would do that after all.

Blinking at that, he realized that he probably shouldn't question how he healed just yet, as he still didn't understand how he'd created a tornado of dirt and dust that he felt that if he'd continued, might've connected to the heavens above. Glancing upwards, he shook his head, bemused by the thought.

As he looked up, he only received one warning from the snap of a twig as something stepped up towards him. Turning around, Naruto didn't even get a chance to say anything as the butt of a bowcaster struck him between the eyes.

x-=-x

Despite her best efforts, An'ya was struggling to remain in the fight after the wave of dark side energy had washed over the clearing. Whatever it was, it had thrown off Naruto's clone, sending him into a fit before his guard had vanished and left her to battle not just Xanatos, but the dark holocron as well.

As such, with each strike of their lightsabers she could hear the whispers of the dark side calling for her. Telling her to give in like Xanatos had shown her, to grab hold and drag the Force to her will so that she could force Xanatos into submission. He'd escaped her before, and many of her targets seemed to be escaping as of late. Why should she let him now?

She hopped back from a particularly wild swing on Xanatos' part, taking a second to reestablish her place in the Force. This wasn't about defeating him or taking him down. It was about forcing him to retreat, and to flee. Defeating him was about getting the bigger picture.

And yet she felt the urge to battle him, to remove his other arm just for good measure, and to establish herself as the dominant duelist amongst them. Qui-gon continued to falter, and Xanatos was getting more and more wild and uncoordinated with his attacks to the point he was making what could be crucial, critical mistakes.

"_One stroke and his arm would be gone."_

Physically restraining herself, she didn't act on her impulse to once more remove his arm. This whispering was not the Force she knew, which told her all too well what it actually was; the holocron. Despite its darkness, whoever had made this seemed to be rather tactically inclined and was very knowledgeable on disabling and damaging opponents. While useful, she didn't need it to tell her what she already knew, and what she was actively trying to ignore.

Thankfully for her, and perhaps even for Xanatos, there soon came a surge of energy in the Force that caused them all too once again stop. It took them a second to see it, to understand what the Force had already begun warning them about, but the moment they did, none of them were certain they could believe what they were seeing.

"By the Force…" An'ya muttered, feeling even Xanatos being stunned by the sight.

Above the trees, reaching upwards towards the sky was a tornado of Force energy. It had gripped and tore out quite a bit of dirt and was now towering over them, casting an ominous shadow over them. While everyone else might've only taken a moment to notice the tornado, she extended her senses to delve deeper, startled to discover that her apprentice was at the epicenter of the tornado. For a brief second she thought that he was stuck within it. These thoughts quickly vanished as Naruto called on a wave of Force energy and threw it upwards to power the tornado. He wasn't just inside it, he was _powering_ it.

"What the hell is Naruto doing?" Obi-wan asked, shuffling in place as he tried to understand what he was seeing. He'd heard of great things being accomplished through the Force, and had seen several such occurrences. This though, was something he'd never imagined possible through the Force.

Then, as though in response to Obi-wan's question, the tornado seemed to pause for a brief second. With a small push of the Force from Naruto, the tornado began to tilt, and the dirt and dust crashed on the raging forest fire near them.

Unfortunately for the Jedi, Xanatos realized that this was perhaps the only opportunity he'd get. As soon as the dust rushed their way, he grabbed his hood and threw it over his head, pulling his cloak over his nose as he dropped Qui-gon's lightsaber and deactivated his own. Running into the dust cloud as it billowed and rushed through the clearing, he closed his eyes and began using the Force to navigate his way away from them.

Obi-wan noticed his attempt to escape, but as soon as he tried to run after him he was forced to cover his face and eyes as the dust cloud washed over him, blinding him and making him, and the other Jedi practically useless in terms of their natural eyesight.

Qui-gon, who'd spent a fair bit of time with Tahl who had become quite adept at Force Sight, merely closed his eyes and followed after Xanatos. While An'ya would've been right with him, simply following the Force's guidance, she found herself still struggling to push back the influence of the dark side coming from the holocron, and realized that chasing him would only provoke it further.

He only had a moment to catch up, but by the time he'd made it to where Xanatos had fled, he could heard the engines of the ship that An'ya Kuro had flown there on roaring to life. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a tracking device and threw it as hard as he could into the darkness. There was no sound to indicate that he'd succeeded, only the satisfied feeling of the Force.

Stepping back, he opened his eyes and looked up, blinking slowly as he realized that the ship's engines also had the added effect of blowing much of the dust away from the small area. Staring at the cockpit, he could sense the rage Xanatos was feeling, and softly sighed as he watched his former apprentice go. He wouldn't get anywhere without Qui-gon knowing about it, and this time, Xanatos would _not_ simply run around the universe freely like he'd done before. No, this time he would be caught.

Turning back to the woods, he began jogging back to where his apprentice and An'ya Kuro were still at. Upon arriving in the clearing, he nearly balked as he felt himself nearing a source of dark side energy. Picking up his speed, he broke through the foliage and stared into the area with wide eyes.

An'ya was meditating in the center of the glade, keeping anything more than the dark side's aura from escaping as the holocron sat on her lap. He could see the strain it was taking on her, and close by Obi-wan stared helplessly as he tried to understand what was happening. Eyeing the holocron carefully, he mulled over his few options.

He could destroy it, but then it was clear that if she'd wanted to do that she would have already. Instead, she was meditating, trying to find the Force untainted by the holocron and use it to hold the dark energies at bay. Realizing that she couldn't do it alone, he sighed as he further considered his options.

The dark side was strong in whoever made the holocron, but then it had been completely missed by everyone in the clearing before now; perhaps because they were focused on Xanatos. However, he could see how the dark side was affecting her, and knew that if it continued its attempt to influence her, it just might leave a dark mark in her mind that would plague her.

Sitting across from her, he closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. He had to keep himself calm as he felt the dark side close by, trying desperately to wash over and consume someone. Slowly, he began to gather that very same energy, and helped push it back in towards the holocron. Within several minutes, the two of them began to breathe with a bit more ease, the holocron floating between them with a deceptively innocent look to it.

Nearby, Obi-wan slowly approached them and dropped besides them. While neither of them acknowledged his presence, he knew that they were aware of his presence. Glancing between them, he chuckled softly. "Well…this has been an interesting day."

Though silent, both masters would certainly agree with this statement; though both had also been given _much_ to think on as well.

x-=-x

Wallanooga, also known as Walla or Nooga depending on who you asked, was not a nice Hutt. When he got things done, he made sure to call in the best. As such, he was the lead arms dealer of the Hutt crime lords, and was one of those that Jabba would turn to with specific needs in weapons, or assassins.

Which is why he was not pleased when he saw the face of Xanatos showing up before him telling him that the artifact he'd been sent as a side mission to find was not in his possession. While it was likely that after all these years _someone_ had found it, he found himself skeptical that anyone had done so seeing how few people knew about Alaris Prime.

Still, he mused, there were other things that he'd gotten from the man that were most helpful. Tapping his chest slowly, he stared at the holocron with a flat look. {And you're going to be on your way shortly?}

"_Yes Walla, I should be there in two standard weeks."_ Xanatos replied, getting a scowl from Walla.

{Two? What is the meaning of this? It takes only five standard days to get there from Alaris. You best not be double crossing me.} He barked in Huttenesse.

Xanatos seemed slow on the defense, not wishing to incur the wrath of the man. _"No, I simply need to deal with Outworld and its expectations. They received no reports of the surplus that you've been sent, and the battle droids are already on their way over. Once I'm done, I will meet up there and help finish the job."_

Wallanooga hummed softly, silently understanding the business side of how this. He could see that Xanatos seemed, rattled, which was not an expression he'd seen on the man before. Deciding that his expression wasn't worth delving to deeply into, he let out a satisfied grunt. {Good. I expect to see you there exactly when you say. Not a day late, understood?}

"_Of course Walla."_ Xanatos said, bowing to him as his holo image faded away.

Wallanooga stared at the holoprojector for several moments, mulling over his options slowly. Chuckling softly, he began searching for the information on contacting a very special project of his. Pulling it up, he sent out the call and sat back, waiting with a malicious smile on his face.

It took a few moments before the man picked up, but upon seeing who it was the man's lips curled up in a similar manner to the Hutt himself. _"Walla, it has been too long."_

{To long indeed Torgo. How goes your training?}

"_It goes well. She's caught on to everything I've said so far, and is practically one of us at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if we could send her out within the year to begin her true calling as an assassin."_

{Good, good.} Walla threw out his hands, laughing loudly as he imagined such a prospect. {Then I expect a good showing in the coming weeks.}

"_Oh? So you did call for a mission then, and not simply to ask an update?"_ Torgo raised a brow curiously, arms crossed as he waited to hear what Wallanooga had to say.

{Of course. You and your kind are some of my best, and for this, only my best will do.} Wallanooga said, embellishing his enjoyment of the Anzat and the work he'd done for him. {I have set up a deal with a man, and in two weeks' time he will be arriving at a drop point. While there, I need someone who can observe him, keep an eye on him, and should he prove treacherous in any manner, kill him.}

The man's grin was practically from ear to ear upon hearing that. _"Of course Walla. That would be no trouble for us."_

{Be careful now, the man was once a Jedi.} Wallanooga pat his belly for a second in thought, before he decided to continue. {I want you to bring her along with you. I wish to see her skills on an actual mission rather than just these reports.}

"…_are you certain? We still have some training we should complete before we delve into –"_

{I wanted you to create her into a Jedi killer, and this man is good enough to prove she can!} Wallanooga barked, getting a blank stare from Torgo. With an exasperated and overly dramatic sigh, he nodded in consent. {Good. I will send you the coordinates by the end of the week.}

"_It will be done Walla." _Torgo said, no further formalities between them as the image shut off.

Wallanooga leaned back and laughed softly as he thought on how this would play out. Soon, very soon, he would see if the fruits of their long awaited efforts had paid off in the manner they'd so dearly desired of their precious Aurra Sing.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm a bit sad that Naruto is eleven when he's first unleashing Kurama since he didn't get to do as much, but then again punching <em>through <em>droids is kinda like punching through harder than steel ice mirrors. And he did create a tornado of dirt to smother an inferno, so I'm rather pleased with this outcome.

Also, I'm glad that **cj1of4** realized the problem with Naruto going rage mode, which I clearly pointed out with the Dark Woman having to fight the holocron alone. However, I'm also pleased to note that a lot of people want to see Xanatos dead. Trust me my friends…soon…very soon…

Anyways, next chapter will be wrapping up the Alaris Prime Arc, and unlike the Naboo Arc, I'm able to clearly show who is coming up for the next Arc. And let me just say, I am _very_ excited about this reunion.

Q&A

**Forgottenkami**: I'm sorry about not elaborating more on it, but I suppose it would make sense that it would be missed. Yes, Niman can block blaster bolts, and yes Naruto does have a lightsaber. However, when you're carrying a Wookiee without your lightsaber in hand and you're shot in the back, it's kind of hard to block a blaster bolt. Worse still, droids don't have a life signature in the Force, so it's harder to find where they are and realize you're being ambushed before it's too late.

And with that, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness**!


	30. Chapter 30

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>It was several hours before the two Jedi masters felt comfortable moving from their position from meditating on the holocron, finally containing the power within it. They'd been exhausted, overwhelmed, and neither of them felt like moving upon completion. As the dust settled though, they both knew they needed to get up and move; mainly because the Wookiees had found them.<p>

The Wookiees looked weary, a long night of fighting the fire wearing down on them. One of them was carrying a very unconscious Naruto on their shoulder, the poor boy limp as a rag doll. An'ya made to move towards him, but was stopped as Attichitcuk held up a hand to stop her.

Upon looking again, she realized that the Wookiees seemed twitchy, almost…defensive of Naruto. Almost as though they were forming a ring around him, hands twitching nervously against their bowcasters. One of them, Shoran, had his head hung low as though he were ashamed.

Looking between them, An'ya turned her attention to Chewbacca. "What is going on?"

{My father, Attichitcuk, is being taken to a medical droid we've been working on back at camp." Chewbacca said, sighing softly. {He found your student, and saved him from the fire. I…something happened in the forest, and when we saw him…}

All of the Wookiees looked between each other, a silent agreement between each other. Bringing Naruto over to them, the Wookiee carrying him lay him at their feet. An'ya knelt down next to him and checked him over. Despite some minor wounds around his stomach area, minor scratches on his arms, and a concussion to his head, Naruto seemed to be alright. Looking him over with the Force though, she found herself blinking rapidly as she tried to understand what she felt. "What happened?"

{We don't know.} Shoran said softly, his eyes seeming to look everywhere except for at Naruto. {One second we were fighting droids, the next he was in the middle of all of us and we felt…pain. Angry at the droids, and fear for Attichitcuk. And then he was gone, and the droids disappeared. We weren't able to find most of what remained of them.}

Qui-gon raised his brow, glancing down to Naruto with a curious look on his face. It almost sounded like some kind of Force technique, but none that he'd ever heard of. "Are you saying you were able to feel what he felt?"

{We don't know.} Chewbacca sighed, running a hand through the hair on his head. {All we know is he helped us. Before he'd shown up we'd been pinned down and were not able to stop the fire. Naruto managed to not only stop the droids, but put out the fire as well.}

"Are you saying _Naruto_ was the one who put out that fire?" Qui-gon asked with wide eyes. He'd felt his presence in the Force, but he'd not realized that Naruto was the one creating it.

{We don't know. All we know is that when I went into the dust when it was settling it was Naruto I…found.} Shoran said, rubbing the back of his neck. {I was expecting battle droids and when he stepped out from behind the tree I struck him with the butt of my bowcaster. I'm sorry.}

"Naruto likely won't care. He isn't the sort of person who'd hold any sort of grudge." Obi-wan said, getting a look from Shoran who still looked like he wasn't so sure.

"It's true." Qui-gon reassured Shoran, placing a hand on Shoran's shoulder. "He's been through a lot, and he's becoming a promising Jedi. Simply wait a while, and you'll see."

Shoran nodded slowly, finally looking down at Naruto. {I've never felt that before. Do all Jedi feel that much…pain?}

The three Jedi in the clearing flinched at that, looking to Naruto silently. They all knew how emotional the boy was, and how much he endured during Xanatos attack on the temple, and An'ya knew of a few of his struggles on Naboo and his home world. Knowing that his feelings had been felt by the Wookiees left them somber and silent.

Taking a deep breath, An'ya finally decided to speak. "Our mission on this world is complete. If it'd be alright, may we accompany your group back to your camp? We…didn't exactly establish any permanent residence while we moved about looking for them."

{Of course. Please,} Chewbacca said, motioning for them to follow them. {It's this way.}

The three Jedi nodded, watching as Shoran picked up Naruto, holding him carefully as he carried him back to the camp.

x-=-x

It took Naruto a long time before he woke up, and it was as the sun rose up around midday he slowly sat up from the small bed he'd been laid on. Grabbing his head, he groaned as he slowly rolled to his feet. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he tried to take in the world around him. He silently thanked his training in alchaka as it helped keep him from falling over when the blood hit his head and his vision began to swim.

Feeling a strong hand on his shoulder, he took a couple of deep breaths. Slowly glancing to the hand, he followed it up to the fur covered face of one of the Wookiees smiling down to him. Smiling back to them, he winced as the memories of what happened came back to him, and his head fell. He could still see what had happened through red tinged eyes, the destruction that he'd raged through the forest.

"What'd I miss?" Naruto muttered, still rubbing his head as he looked around. He wasn't a morning person, so it was taking him a moment to realize that he was in an unfamiliar home. "Where am I?"

The Wookiee didn't respond, patting his shoulder as he moved out of the room. Naruto blinked, remembering that he didn't understand Shyriiwook. Laughing sheepishly, he followed after the Wookiee, peeking his head out the doorway.

Outside the room, the Wookiees were still moving about, taking care of their small but ever growing settlement. Their buildings were still in production, not completed, but the areas that were built were taking shape into very strong looking structures. While not the industrial look of Coruscant, or the artistic look of Naboo, the Wookiees structures were strong, rugged, and appeared to him as though they were capable of standing up to anything that was thrown at them.

Hearing a Wookiee shouting something, Naruto looked around to see several of the Wookiees waving to him and shouting down the line from the treetops to as far as they had spread. One of them on ground level nodded when he heard them, turning and jogged over to one of the structures. Naruto watched as he said something to those within, and was rewarded with the sight of his master, Qui-gon, and Obi-wan with his master walking towards him.

Walking over to them, he couldn't help but glance around and wave back to some of the Wookiees. It was a different feeling than the one on Naboo, where the people were a bit more reserved when they addressed him. Here the Wookiees were more quite loud as they waved to him, having no qualms about addressing him. It brought a smile to his face, thought it made him confused as to what he'd done.

As his master stood before him, he smiled up at her brightly. "Hey Master Kuro. What'd I miss?"

"A lot, unfortunately." An'ya said softly, shaking her head as she guided him back towards the building she'd come out of. "We were just finishing up a conversation with the Jedi Council."

Naruto noticed her expression and frowned, not understanding what was going on. "Um, okay? What did they say?"

"One moment," Opening the door, she led him into the room. Naruto glanced to Qui-gon and Obi-wan, both of them looking back with an unsatisfied and frustrated expression respectively.

Thankfully, one person in the room looked happy. "It's good to meet you mister Uzumaki."

"Kill it with fire!" Naruto shouted, diving behind An'ya as the medical droid approached him. "Why am I always ambushed by droids?!" Hearing a chuckling from behind the droid, Naruto peeked his head around An'ya and blinked upon seeing who it was. "Eh? Itchy you're okay!"

"Itchy?" Obi-wan asked, grinning at Naruto's nickname.

"Hey, you try saying his name without feeling dumb every time you say it." Naruto said with a huff, though the moment of distraction allowed An'ya to move the medical droid away from Naruto so that he wouldn't freak out about its presence.

{It's good to see you again Naruto.} Attichitcuk said, smiling at the boy as he pat the chair next to him. On the other side of him, Chewbacca sat next to him with a wry smile as well.

Naruto glanced to the small device floating nearby Attichitcuk that translated what he said so that Naruto could understand it. Smiling at the pair of Wookiees, he sat down next to them and glanced between them. "It's good to see you too. Ah, and it's even better to see you're okay! I was worried there when those droids showed up. They didn't get you again did they?"

{No, they didn't, thanks to you.} Attichitcuk said, chuckling softly. {I apologize for having slowed you down when we were ambushed. If I hadn't, then –}

"Then I would've felt bad forever." Naruto said, crossing his arms with a flat look. "There was no way I was leaving you behind. Not when I was there to help!"

Attichitcuk and Chewbacca glanced at each other and chuckled softly at Naruto's attitude. {He's as strong willed as you said.} Chewbacca said as he pat Naruto on the shoulder. {He looks like he's strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark.}

Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I don't know about that. I just, it wouldn't be right for me to just leave him there. He's a friend, and I know he'd do the same for me."

{And if I hadn't been willing to do the same?}

"Then I'd have dragged you back." Naruto said, nodding resolutely. While he didn't seem to realize how much the Wookiees outclassed in terms of strength, the look on his face told him that he was completely serious. "Just because you aren't willing to do the same doesn't give me the right to just leave you there. To leave anyone there really."

The Wookiees nodded to each other, smiling as they pat him on the back once more. {Well then in that case, know that you are welcome under my roof at any point in time. We'd be happy to accommodate you.}

"Really?" Naruto gawked a bit at that, bowing hesitantly as he took that in. "I – thank you! Wow…oh wait. Dang it, now I need to learn Wookiee."

Obi-wan chuckled softly, getting a glare from Naruto as he tried to hold up his hands defensively. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you brought this on yourself."

Naruto huffed softly, but grinned nonetheless. His grin shortly faltered though when he saw that Qui-gon and his master remained somber in spite of the lighthearted attitude the rest of them seemed to have. Glancing between them, Naruto bit his lip as he turned towards them. "…master?"

"We were able to get in contact and speak with the Council." She said slowly, knowing how he'd react to what she was going to say. "They said that since our job here is done, we're to return to the Jedi Temple to deliver the information we gathered from Xanatos' ship." She said with a sigh. "However, we're not allowed to follow after him for the time being."

Naruto's eyes widened, and slammed his hands on his legs. "Wait _what?_ Why not? We found where he'd heading, so why can't we go after him?"

"Because they want us to give our report."

There was a silence in the room as Naruto stared at them silently. Slowly, his head dropped as he gripped his knees slowly. "…oh…"

It wasn't the answer that they were looking to get, or the reaction they expected from Naruto.

"That's bantha poodoo!" Naruto finally shouted, growling loudly – the reaction they'd been expecting. "This isn't _fair._ We did so much work, and we found where he's going, and…and what? We have to wait to give our report? How long will that take?"

"I don't know." An'ya said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "It usually takes a couple of days to get from Coruscant to Kashyyyk to get our ship here, then from Kashyyyk to Coruscant will take several more, and not including the travel from Coruscant to –" Her eyes glanced to him, eyes taking a curious look for a second before continuing. "Xanatos' final destination, which might mean that likely it will take over a week and a half to get to him if we're then given permission to do so."

Naruto grit his teeth, hitting his forehead several times as he tried to refocus. "So…we're giving them a chance to get away?"

"No. We need to pass along the information we've gathered from the ship first and foremost. Don't forget what our mission was."

It took him a second to remember, mind clouded as it went straight to the one part that he could think about. After a few seconds though, he felt rather ashamed as his head dropped. "The Trade Federation."

{If you and your master don't return to Coruscant and give them your report, as well as your testimony, our relations with them will remain strained.} Attichitcuk sighed, patting Naruto's head. {As much as there may be some things that you want to do, there are other things that must be done. We understand that you wish to bring him to justice, but part of that is making certain his plots are foiled before they get out of control.}

"But…I…" Naruto stared up at Attichitcuk with a frown. Looking to all of them, he knew that none of them knew what he did. Still, he did need to be reminded that there was a bigger picture to this scenario. "Yes sir."

{Thank you.} Attichitcuk said, patting him on the shoulder.

Naruto nodded, slowly standing and walked towards the door. The room full of people seemed confused by the far off look on his face, but they let him go. Watching him silently, An'ya sighed as she glanced back at them. "Forgive him, I'll go speak with him."

{Don't worry. We understand that he's been through a lot.} Attichitcuk said, waving off her concern for Naruto's attitude.

"Regardless, I should go speak with him." She said, bowing to them. "Thank you for your time, and thank you for your kindness towards my student."

{We are glad he was here.} Chewbacca said back, bowing slightly in return. {I still don't know what happened to him, but I do know that thanks to him, our forest was defended.}

"I'll be sure to let him know that." She said with a smile.

As she walked out, the four turned to one another. "He'll be okay. We just need to give him a bit of time."

{I hope so. The boy has been a great help to our people, and I hope that he will remain the stalwart young man he's shown himself to be. His inner strength…} Chewbacca shook his head, recalling the piercing red eyes that had been true windows into his soul. {I pity anyone who forces him to focus that strength against them.}

"And I hope he never had to call upon that again." Qui-gon muttered, remembering the feeling that had swept over them all too well. Shaking his head, he looked at the map of the area that An'ya had given them that the droids had made. "So, let's look this over. We might be able to find a better settlement area that the droids didn't think of."

{That sounds good.} Chewbacca said, looking at the map. {We'll keep a settlement here as well, as a reminder.}

"Oh?" Qui-gon's lips twitched upwards, already having an idea of why they wanted to leave a settlement there. "Alright then, we'll look for a place that's able to be connectable to this area, so that the Wookiees are able to travel through the area without any issues."

For the next month, the Wookiees and two Jedi would continue their work on their first settlement. Upon its completion, the Wookiees who'd lived and seen what had happened would give the clearing where the remnants of the wroshyr trees had been a name they felt would be appropriate.

Despite the destruction that had happened there, it was already a symbol of the Wookiees will to fight those against them, and help one another as they continued to thrive in this land. As such, Attichitcuk and Chewbacca nominated that they give it the most appropriate name they could think of.

Naruto Valley.

x-=-x

An'ya walked over to where Naruto sat, his eyes staring at the clearing where the massive ship remained. They had been required to wait a few days more, and Naruto's eyes weren't going to leave the clearing where he knew the ship would land to pick them up. At some points throughout the day he would meditate, but for the most part he just stared at the area angrily.

Standing behind him, she remained silent as she waited for him to address her, recognizing something was off with her student. Naruto, not one to enjoy silences, didn't allow her presence to remain un acknowledged for long. "Hello master."

"Naruto, what's on your mind?"

Naruto sighed, scratching his head with a soft growl. "It's just…how can the council just let Xanatos go? We have a ship right here that we could use, why not use it?"

"Because it belongs to the Wookiees, not the Republic."

"Well, okay, why can't we just take the ship they send and go right then?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because our mission was to find information that proved or disproved the Trade Federation's claim that someone had stolen their battle droids. We now have that, and as such our mission is to now go home and report it." An'ya sighed, slowly moving to sit beside him. Staring at the space silently, she didn't even require the Force to tell him of his feelings. "You're bothered by something deeper than our trip Naruto. Deeper than Xanatos."

"…I don't care about Xanatos." Naruto muttered, sighing in defeat. "Xanatos is just…there to be a middleman. If I can find him, I can find the Hutt who hired him. And if we find him…we can find Aurra."

An'ya turned towards him slowly, hiding the startled feeling she got when she realized what Naruto had said. "And you believe that you are the only one who is capable of doing so?"

"No, but I know her. We know her." Naruto groaned and shook his head. "I just don't want someone she doesn't know coming to save her. She was always really finicky around strange masters in the Order talking to her, or younglings or whoever, but she was always okay with us."

Recalling some of the more choice words she could recall Aurra calling her after some of her 'training', An'ya might've argued the point. However, "Naruto, what will you do if they don't allow you to go after Xanatos?"

There was a dark silence as Naruto's fingers slowly clenched into fists. His eyes remained forwards, his gaze being one that looked as though he could stare across the galaxy. "Then I'll fight. I'll train, I'll learn, I'll do whatever I can possibly do to get there. I'll find a way…there's always a way."

"All things are possible with the Force." She muttered softly, recalling her own words that she'd used as her base point for some of her later unorthodox techniques.

"Huh?" Naruto muttered, turning to her in confusion.

"Mm, it's nothing Naruto." She stood up, reaching her hand out to him. "We still have a few days, so in the meantime, why don't you do something productive."

Naruto took the hand willingly, pulled to his feet as he found himself more confused by her shift in words. "Um, okay? What do you mean?"

Walking towards the burnt out clearing from the wildfire, she motioned for him to follow. "If you're going to train and learn, then we'd best not waste time. There are several different Force abilities I know that few other Jedi know, mainly because the basic Jedi techniques are all that one needs to know. I've seen great things done with them, but after seeing your skill with Force Clone, I believe these will benefit you quite well."

Naruto perked up, recognizing what she was saying now. Clenching his fist eagerly, he nodded his head and grinned. "Alright then, I'm game for that. What kind of techniques are you thinking of teaching me?"

"This technique…" She began as they entered the clearing, picking up a stick to draw a circle in the ground. "Is not for the faint of heart. If you manage it, then it will only get more difficult for you."

"I can do it!" Naruto said, stomping his foot on the ground with a strong expression. "Whatever it is, I don't care, I can do it!"

She glanced back at him with a sigh as she drew a final mark on the ground in the center of circle. "Come here." Naruto moved over quickly, standing in the center of the circle with a determined grin. She moved to the outside of the circle and stared at him with a small smirk. "This technique is not one for the faint of heart, and it _will_ drain you quite quickly. If you are capable of even moving the first four feet, then you'll have the potential to move anywhere in your line of sight."

Naruto's eyes widened, jaw almost dropping as he tried to understand what she meant. "Wait…what?"

"The technique is a rare one, but we'll find out if you're capable of doing it soon enough." Tapping her toes against the edge of the ring, she continued. "It's quite literally an instantaneous movement of space, more commonly referred to as teleportation. Now, are you ready?"

Naruto swallowed heavily for a second, trying to figure out what to say to that. Gripping his hands into fists, he confidently grinned. "…bring it on!"

x-=-x

_Nine Days Later_

_Coruscant: Jedi Temple_

Naruto fell over again, breathing heavily as he tried to pick himself off the floor. Flinching as he felt his whole body straining against his every action as he rolled back to his feet as he tried it again.

Sensing the same warning sensation as before, he grit his teeth and teleported off to the side. Despite his best efforts, he barely got two feet, which left him still close enough for An'ya to kick him and threw him away from her. "Get up quicker. Enemies were not be kind to you if you give them an opportunity like this."

Yelping as he fought every part of his body as it screamed against him, he shoved himself to his feet and reassumed a Force Affinity form, trying to gather his focus in the Force as he utilized the endurance Force form that would allow him a bit more energy to utilize. Seeing her form seconds before she struck out again, he grit his teeth and tried to teleport again. This time he moved just over four feet to the side, dodging her strike before it hit him. Only the Force kept him on his feet, sustaining him enough to stop him from falling over.

"Good, you're getting better at that. However," She spun on her heel, kicking Naruto again and launched him off his feet. "You still need to practice to learn to make it a reflex."

"Yes master…"Naruto muttered, eyes somewhat hazy as he lost connection to the Force due to fatigue.

"…may I ask what's going on here?"

An'ya glanced to the door, raising a brow at Mace Windu. "I'm training my student."

"You're startling the younglings." Mace said, motioning to the younglings who were staring at them with wide eyes.

"They've seen worse." Naruto said offhandedly, recalling a few pranks he done that had gone poorly around the younglings.

"Regardless, you should be more careful with your training." Mace said, mentally filing that information away for later. "Master, if you don't mind, we'd like to finish hearing your report."

An'ya glanced to Naruto, raising a brow as he tried to get up. "Of course Master Windu. Naruto!"

"I'm coming," Naruto muttered, his legs shaking beneath him as he staggered over to where they were.

Walking with them, Mace glanced to Naruto with somewhat of a concerned look. He understood that her training methods were unorthodox, but seeing Naruto – a usually hyperactive and inexhaustible source of energy – stumbling as he tried to keep up wasn't what he was used to.

Entering the Council room, he could sense several other masters who were caught off guard by Naruto's appearance as well. Kuro was known for being a brutal and rigorous trainer, but it had been a long time since she'd had an apprentice so it had been a while since they'd seen her apprentices walking around looking as though they were about to fall over.

Yoda watched the two stand before the council, humming softly as Mace took his seat next to him. "Much training you're doing, hm?"

"Of course master." Naruto said with a shaky smile. "I've got to keep my training up if I'm going to catch up with you."

Mace ignored the byplay, looking instead at the two before him. "We've heard your reports, and we understand your desire to follow after Xanatos. However, after looking through the information, we aren't able to send you after him."

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, eyes widening when he'd heard that. "Why not?"

"The coordinates were for an area on Nar Shadda. It's in Hutt Space, and we don't have authority to send someone into those hyperspace lanes." Mace said, already anticipating the outrage of Naruto.

"That's bantha poodoo!" Right on point, Naruto was shaking as he tried to contain himself, but wasn't able to since he was exhausted. "Jedi go into Hutt Space all the time, so what's stopping us from going into it now?"

"We are able to when we are going after certain things such as criminals; but only those people who are a problem for the people there as much as anywhere else in the galaxy." Adi Gallia explained, getting a disgruntled groan from Naruto. "Xanatos isn't just some criminal though. He's someone with a connection to the Hutts, which means that if you go into their territory and attempt to capture him you'll be met with resistance should you try to get him off world."

"But – but we can't just let him go!" Naruto shouted, looking to his master pleadingly.

"It appears…we have no choice." She said with a sigh. "If we aren't allowed to chase them, then the council has spoken."

Naruto's eyes were filled with pain as he looked between everyone. Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked out of the room, not wanting to be around as he had too much going through his head.

Watching him go, An'ya slowly turned to the masters with a thoughtful look on her face. "Masters, if I may?"

"What is it you wanted Dark Woman?" Yoda asked, tapping his cane gently on the floor.

"Naruto…well, you've read the report, and you know that after all this there are traces of darkness that linger around him." An'ya said carefully, shaking her head as she looked between them. "If I may, I'd like to take him to a private training area, where I can take time to teach him one-on-one. He needs counseling, and while I know that there are masters here who are willing and capable…he's my apprentice, and I want to make things right."

Mace raised a brow at that, eyeing the door behind her. He'd just seen Naruto walking out from training, which meant it was clear that she didn't care so much about her methods being observed. Likely it was more so for a change of scenery and pace, where she'd be able to help give him a chance to stretch himself more, and in doing so potentially show her the darkness he'd exhibited on Alaris Prime.

Looking to his fellow council members, he saw each of them with a similar look on their faces. Sighing softly, Mace nodded slowly. "Alright. I understand what you're saying. Did you have somewhere in mind?"

"My old stomping grounds should do all too well." She said after a moment, tapping her chin slowly.

Yoda hummed, eyeing her knowingly before nodding slowly. "Agree with these thoughts, I do. A good plan it is, to help Naruto find inner peace."

"I don't know." Adi Gallia said after a moment, shaking her head with a sigh. "I feel we can help him here just as well as if he were anywhere else."

"And I acknowledged that." An'ya Kuro said, giving her a look before looking back to Mace. "This is also about developing the student-teacher relationship between us."

"But…" Adi looked at her for a moment, eyeing her carefully before sighing. "Very well, if you believe it will help Naruto to overcome this…darkness, then I will stand behind it as well."

The council all seemed to nod and accept it as well, getting a small smile from An'ya as she bowed to them. "Thank you for allowing me this chance to work with him. I promise, I won't let you down. We will return soon enough. May the Force be with you."

"And with you as well." Mace said, inclining his head to An'ya as she walked out the door.

x-=-x

She waited until the doors closed before she glanced over to Naruto. The poor boy was leaning against the wall, looking exhausted as he tried to keep himself from falling over. Hooking her hand under his arm, she helped guide him towards the hanger bay. Naruto stumbled a few times, but kept his pace as best as he could, looking up to her in confusion.

As they entered the hanger bay, Naruto's eyes widened as they walked over and made their way towards one of the ships her master favored. "Master?" He asked, not sure what was going on. "Where are we going?"

"We're going on a training trip Naruto." She said as she moved towards the cockpit. Flipping a few switches and powering it on, she glanced back towards Naruto. "Strap yourself in."

Naruto nodded, following her instructions as he leaned back into his chair and relaxed. Glancing towards the controls, he turned to look at the hyperspace maps curiously. Looking at their desired route, he leaned forwards and blinked curiously. While it initially went to Ord Namurt, there was a second set of coordinates from a second hyperspace lane. "Um, where does this hyperspace lane go?"

"Hm? Oh that one?" An'ya hummed, lips curled into a grin as she piloted the ship towards their first stop. "That's the lane I used when I went to go find Aurra."

"Where you found Aurra? Oh, you mean on Nar –" Naruto's jaw dropped and he stared at her.

"Yes Naruto." She said, typing in the final coordinates for their first jump as she activated the hyperdrive. "We're going to Nar Shadda."

* * *

><p>AN: Because An'ya isn't going to just sit back and let someone else do what she can do. In her story, when she hears about Aurra killing Jedi, she wanted to go after her and take her down herself. Even though she was denied it, she <em>still<em> ended up on the mission.

This chapter was a lot faster than some of the others I've written, but then it was transitional and didn't need to go over anything other than to explain the transition. Simple, easy, and hey it worked. Now, we can begin our decent into the dark world of Nar Shadda where Naruto will finally get to meet up with Aurra once more.

Until next time, this has been an interesting chapter of **From Darkness**.


	31. Chapter 31

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

After some deliberation before posting this, I decided to up the rating from T to M here. For one, this is Nar Shadda, and won't have many "good things" hidden around in it. However, it should also give me some leeway into writing other things in the future. For now though, it's mainly a precautionary thing.

So, that finished with, let's move on to Nar Shaddaa.

* * *

><p><em>Nar Shaddaa: Corellian Sector<em>

Nar Shaddaa was home to many things; wayward vagabonds, illegally created advances in technology, spice dealers, and more. Though there was diversity in what occurred on Nar Shaddaa, through the many segments of Nar Shaddaa, there was a surprising localization of where many of these thing occurred.

The Corellian Sector was no different, though the aforementioned sections were not what made it stand out. No, it was their gambling enterprise and closeness to both the old Refugee Sector and the Red Light District that made it stand out. Despite it smelling of refuse and debris from the nearby garbage scows that floated near several parts of it, there would always be a continual flow of recipients who were willing to endure it in favor of trying to see if their luck would allow them a way out of the stink hole.

However, these things were not what two figures had in mind as they traversed the area. No, they were more interested in the warehouse district along the perimeter.

An'ya palmed the tracker that Qui-gon had given her, looking it over before glancing back to the warehouse. "So, he's finally here."

"Took him long enough. My clothes won't stop reeking of this stink." Naruto muttered, his nose scrunched from the pungent smell he'd been forced to endure.

Upon arriving in the city, An'ya had made it very clear that there would be a few rules that Naruto and her would be following, with a particular emphasis on them for Naruto. The first; they were not to use their lightsabers or any obvious use of the Force unless absolutely necessary. They were trying to be covert, and if they were caught then there would be those who would interfere by trying to claim the standing bounty many criminals had simply for a bounty hunter to kill a Jedi.

The second was that they would move slowly once Xanatos got to the planet. If he ran before they could find where his contact was, then they'd have followed him for nothing. It was clear shortly after they'd arrived that they'd beaten him to the planet somehow, so that gave them a bit more time to establish their 'base of operations' before he'd gotten there. For once they were holding the advantage.

The final, and perhaps the one that she knew would be most easily broken, was that they would stay together. Period. If he was separated from her, even with all their skills, she was fairly certain that he might end up as lost in this universe as Aurra had once been. There were all manner of people here who would take advantage of a young boy alone in a space port, from slavers to pirates. The somber reminder of Aurra had made Naruto more vigilant to remain close, and to keep an eye out to make sure that he wasn't separated by anyone or anything.

Still, their plan was fairly straightforward; follow Xanatos, find his boss, and then find a way to use that to begin breaking down the organization. The way they planned this, was to get into their base and get information on their interactions so that they could pinpoint where to go next. It wasn't the easiest plan as it required them to not to get caught, but if they could do this, they'd find Aurra.

An'ya hummed softly, eyeing the warehouses critically before shaking her head. "For now, we need to find where he's going. Likely he's going to be heading into Nar Shaddaa's Undercity. The only place where they could hide or repurpose a ship would be in the shipyards there but…it's controlled by the Hutts."

Shaking his head slowly, Naruto growled. "The Hutts are going to be really, really annoying aren't they?"

"More than you can imagine." She said softly, shaking her head as she remembered all that she'd heard about Jedi who had been forced to encounter the Hutts. "Regardless, we'll find a way to take things as the Force leads us."

Naruto nodded, sighing softly as he glanced to the paths that lead through the city. He'd gotten a map of the city, but seeing things in person was a completely different experience, mainly because parts of the landscape – if it could be called such a thing – had changed in small ways that threw him off a bit. Did that connect to the Refugee Sector or the Red Light? Glancing back to An'ya he decided to stay close to her so that he didn't go the wrong way.

As they moved through the casino, he found himself getting more and more nervous. There was something about this place that was beginning to grate on his nerves and had been for the entire time they'd been here. He'd tried meditating on it, but the city-world was both alive and dead in the Force, and the sensation made him almost physically sick when he tried to settle his nerves.

Little Coruscant, or the Vertical City as it was known, had a wide variety of beings that lived on the world which gave it a unique connection to the Force. However, while Naruto had never been to the lower levels of Coruscant, he was quickly finding that if Nar Shaddaa's upper levels were as bad as the lower levels of Coruscant, he _never_ wanted to go down there. However, it also made him curious as to what was sort of beings created this curious amount of Force energy.

Feeling someone brush past him, he blinked when he felt something slipped into his hand. Keeping his eyes forwards, he kept moving forwards as he ran his fingers over it slowly. It felt like notepad, and it took a great deal of self-control to keep him from checking it right then and there.

As they turned the corner, he pulled it out and quickly read it. He could feel his master looking at him curiously over his shoulder. The words made them both pause, eyes wide as the words sprawled out across the pad.

_You're being followed._

"We're leaving. Now." An'ya said, eyes hardening as she grabbed Naruto's shoulder and moved him forwards.

As they left though, Naruto couldn't help but glance back to try to see who had bumped into him. Seeing nothing but a sea of creatures and faces, he bit his lip and moved quickly alongside his master.

x-=-x

It wasn't supposed to go like this. She wasn't supposed to think these things. At least, that's what she told herself as she stared down her scope and caught sight of two all too familiar faces.

Aurra grit her teeth when she'd first caught sight of the Dark Woman; the master who had abandoned her, and left her to the pirates that had sold her like some common contraband. Her so called "Jedi master" whose training had nearly broken her even before the pirates had even gotten a hold of her.

She'd thought that she could endure, and take it. She swore that she would be the sort of person that could live up to help Naruto in the future, and then she'd broken. Their words had made to much sense, and by that point she _wanted_ to believe that the Jedi were out to get her, that they hated her and had sold her out where no one would care about anything that happened to her.

After she'd alerted the bounty office to her presence, she'd gone back to observing her. She didn't need the money, and while she was trained and had several advantages, she was going to defeat her master after she watched her go through hell. Upon finding her perch, she'd realized her folly.

Of course she wouldn't remain alone. Even though she'd lost her, even though there were a thousand reasons why she wasn't fit to be a master to anyone else, she stood there with a familiar blond haired boy with a grin like the warmth of sunshine that stopped her cold.

He was here. He was with _her._ And she'd called bounty hunters on him.

Slipping the scope of her sniper back into her pocket, she quickly grabbed a cloak and all but dragged it onto her lithe form as she made her way back down to their level. They were looking away from the buildings which meant there was something out there that they'd come here for was out there. That would give her a least a few moments to get down and –

"Where are you going?"

Were she not trained to be a trained killer she might've stumbled at how sudden his voice seemed to emerge from the shadows. Turning to face him, she ignored the small twitch of her lips in frustration. "Out. I have a job I need to take care of."

"Your job is observing Xanatos, not going off and doing things on your own." The man stepped out of the shadows, a condescending look on his face as he shook his head. "Whatever it is, it isn't worth it."

Torgo Tahn, the Anzat who'd been one of her primary teachers, looked like any other Anzat; human-like and indistinguishable from any other human, except for the tendrils that they hid and their countless age. Torgo was no exception, and had lived for a long, long time, learning many different arts and art forms in the ways of assassination that he'd taught her. His dark hair was pulled back messily, and with piercing eyes that seemed to hold onto her, trying to find something in her eyes each and every time they spoke. Or maybe it was just his hunger for "soup".

"Perhaps," She said shifting her pack as she moved past him. "But then, how I take care of this is my choice, not yours. I can't stay under you and your shadow forever. Now if you'll excuse me –"

"No, I won't." He stepped in front of her, stopping her from leaving. "You are constantly walking off without saying anything about what you're doing, and while your independence is admirable, you are still under me, and your actions will reflect on me as well."

"Then why should you worry?" Aurra replied sharply, staring at him with cold eyes. "My track record speaks for itself, and my performance in the field is more than satisfactory."

"That's not what I meant." He said, his expression shifting to one she'd seen a few times, but one that was certainly not needed at the moment. "After all we've done, after all this time, you still push me away?"

"Yes." Aurra snorted at his words. She was far from ignorant to his advances. The moments while training her where his hands would linger, where his presence would hover behind her silently, and where he'd look at her from across a room with the same look she'd felt from other lecherous looks from other patrons of bars and clubs she'd had to go into to speak to informants. It was uncomfortable to her, and she hated him more with each moment he tried to force her to remain with him.

He shook his head slowly, staring at her with a disappointed look. "I still can't believe that there's such ruthless determination in someone so…pretty."

"I don't have time for this." She scowled and pushed past him. It wouldn't help her if he followed her to follow her, but then she'd also made sure to make it clear when she was in these moods that if he followed her nothing good would come from it. It had never occurred how useful that would later be, but knowing that he wouldn't follow right now was vital.

Pulling her hood over her head, she pulled out a notepad and paused before writing anything. What should she write? That she'd called bounty hunters on him? Thinking about it she couldn't even be sure that they were.

Looking around, she bit her lip as her eyes darted to the corners of the room. It took a moment to find them, but she'd been trained, and with the bio computer in her head processing things faster than any normal mind could. Five armed soldiers stood in the room, each trying to look inconspicuous. There were likely others that they would drive them towards, which meant there would likely be closer to eight or ten at least. While there were plenty other people with blasters in plain sight, they were to twitchy, and too obvious to her.

Writing down a short, simple message, she tried to think of some way to meet up with Naruto. Realizing that she honestly had no idea on what she could do, she decided to try something else.

Seeing them moving though, she headed over towards them as she wrapped herself in the Force to hide her presence. Keeping her head down and staring right past them, she let her foot slip slightly as she slipped the pad into the palm of his hand. Moving quickly away, she sighed and bit her lip as she slipped into another room before weaving her way to make her way in front of them.

"Alright then, let's try to make this a happier meeting."

x-=-x

Ducking into one of the larger gambling rooms, An'ya tried desperately to figure out where they needed to go. The Force called her forwards, guiding her through the gaggle of people that were within the room. Ignoring the wide assortment of beings trying to get her attention and draw her over to their table. There were also some who were brushing something in their hands which was meant to draw their attention; likely Red Light Sector. It didn't help that the noise drew Naruto's attention and it took some work to keep him from looking at each of them.

She was becoming worried as during several parts of their journey she felt a presence that would dart close to them only to back off when she'd pull Naruto closer. The Force told her nothing about this person, or the others following her, but she focused only on their journey. They would deal with things as they came, and for the moment, she'd deal with those that were swiftly approaching them.

There was a short reprieve for them in the casino area, none of those who were there following them willing to start trouble yet it seemed. That meant whoever it was, they weren't security, which was a relief. It gave her a couple of seconds to breathe and think before they jumped them. And with the presence of two individuals on either side of the door leaving the room, she needed to react as swiftly as she could.

"No matter what happens, keep your eyes forwards." She told Naruto, feeling him nod as she kept her hand against the back of his shirt to guide him.

As she expected, the two waited for them to walk past and fully out of the room before trying to move in on her. Instead of doing what they expected, she dug her heel into the ground and forced herself backwards. Slamming her elbows into their faces, she pinned them back into the wall before grabbing Naruto and maneuvered him away from there.

Naruto heard the crack of their skulls and flinched, but kept his eyes forwards as he let her lead him onwards. He couldn't understand what was going on anymore; they'd kept their heads down, they hadn't done anything to draw their attention, they'd done nothing. So what had changed?

Biting his lip, he saw someone – a Gamorrean – stepping around with a vibroblade in their hand as they marched on them. Whatever idea they had believed they could get off, An'ya was _not_ letting it happen. Stepping forwards she slammed the palm of her hand into his chin, making it stumble backwards. Stomping down on its foot, she then quickly punched it in the gut before walking past it. They were some other alternative paths, but she didn't feel in a diplomatic mindset at the moment.

Moving down an alley, she silently cursed when she realized that they were being cornered. Reaching out with the Force, she could sense another pair, blasters already aimed at the entrance to shoot them as soon as they tried to exit, with a third following behind them and a few more circling around. Gritting her teeth, her mind raced, coming up with no solution to how she could outmaneuver them.

Right before she tried to turn on the third person, their presence in the Force suddenly vanished. She could feel Naruto pause and try to look back, but her hand on his back pushed him forwards and kept him from looking back. Nar Shaddaa was not a kind place to those who were unaware of their surroundings, and from what she'd felt, there was only one explanation.

Someone else was following them.

This didn't make her feel any better and in fact made her more worried about what she needed to do. Ducking beneath the two blasters, she almost rolled her eyes as the two shot each other rather than her. To her surprise though, one of them appeared to have been stunned rather than killed, which meant at least one of the two had fired a stun bolt. She almost felt sorry for them, as that meant they were the one who'd been killed by the other.

Biting her lip, she dragged Naruto towards the nearest walkway. This was getting far to close, and she didn't want anything to do with this scenario. As they got halfway down the walkway, the Force alerted her to something being off just seconds before a speeder slammed into the walkway. She could hear the hooting and hollering of the beings onboard as they raced off. Glimpsing it as they raced off, she flinched when she realized that it was some kind of armored transport; something that would likely never make it off of Nar Shaddaa as she realized that the weight of it likely wouldn't allow it to stay airborne for very long. Feeling a second one slam into the walkway behind her, she growled as she shoved Naruto forwards.

"Run!"

Naruto was already stumbling to follow her directions, pushing off and racing across the now wobbling walkway. They could turn back, but hearing the blaster fire behind them neither of them wanted to try and turn to face it without their lightsabers, and doing so would draw attention to themselves. Feeling the third strike behind them, Naruto yelped as the walkway began tilting. An'ya hit the railing feet first, reaching out quickly to grab Naruto by the sleeve before he could fall over.

Gritting her teeth, she swung Naruto with as much strength as she could. As she did so, she could only watch as the second speeder came zooming forwards and crashed once more into the walkway. Having no time to react to stop herself from falling, she instead finished her movement to throw Naruto onto the walkway as she lost her balance and fell in his place.

Naruto slammed into the walkway, dazed by hitting the walkway and as such almost missed what happened. As it was, he didn't, and could only watch as she slipped from his grasp and fell into the darkness below. He couldn't see her as she fell out of sight beneath the walkway.

"Master Kuro!" Naruto shouted, not able to look down as a blaster bolt shot past his face. Gritting his teeth, he looked to the end of the walkway and flinched. Running the rest of the way, he glanced around as he looked for a way down.

This was not going as planned.

x-=-x

Aurra cursed silently as she followed after Naruto, these bounty hunters beginning to prove to be quite a nuisance. She'd been hoping that they would try to split them up upon realizing that the two of them were traveling together, but the Dark Woman kept Naruto close. Even when she slipped ahead of them to do so herself to drag him away from it all, she simply gripped him and pulled him closer. It took a great deal of patience on her part – ironically something that the Dark Woman never could teach her – to keep from darting in to split them apart herself.

Watching them leave the room, she just barely saw her strike the two who'd been waiting in ambush for her. She herself knew it might be a good idea against other opponent, but not Jedi. From what she'd been learning, when fighting a Jedi, there was a few more tactics that needed to be employed, as well as a bit more speed. Those two practically stumbled into her elbows like fools; open, stupid, and blundering fools.

Stepping out of the room, she past the Gamorrean who'd fallen over from the Dark Woman's assault. Another poor choice on the Gamorrean's part; frontal assault was good, but only if you had the right equipment. Looking at the two vibroblades that lay besides him, she would have scoffed if she weren't in a rush.

Eyeing them as they went down through an ally, she grit her teeth as she saw someone moving around behind them. Pulling out a small blade, she walked up behind the man, trying to let it look like she was being casual until she was right behind them. Then, with a speed and strength that she never would have had before as a Jedi, she latched herself onto them. Holding them tightly, she shoved the blade roughly into the base of their throat, not wanting them to make any noise. She could see the Dark Woman flinch when his life vanished in the Force, but Aurra paid it no mind.

Depositing them off to the side, she quickly wiped the blade on his clothes before following after them. As she walked out, she blinked as she saw one of the two men who'd attempted to stop Naruto and the Dark Woman still breathing while the other was slumped over. Looking between them, she easily figured out what had happened. Shaking her head, she pulled out a blaster and shot the second man in their face.

There was no remorse in her for what she did. She had been trained as an assassin, a cold blooded killer, and she was good at her job. In this case though, that training was being utilized for a rather different purpose; one that her teachers would regard as selfish, and foolish, but then she really didn't care about their opinions at the moment.

Walking out of the alley, her eyes widened as she saw them on the walkway just as she heard the first bulk speeder slam into the walkway before bouncing off. Her first reflex was to draw her slugthrower and try to shoot them down, but she held off as she drew her scope from her pocket and watched what happened.

As she watched, she flinched when she saw Naruto stumbling. Already sensing what was going to happen, she tried to find the quickest way to them. Looking back between them, she put her scope away and tried to run after them. By that point though, she realized that she'd missed the second bulk speeder, and wasn't anywhere near them as she watched the walkway tilt beneath them. Jumping down towards them, she could hear Naruto shouting something and finally called on the Force to increase her speed.

Skidding to a stop on the end of the walkway, she looked down into the darkness. Trying to see where he'd fallen, she heard more shouting from across the way. Glancing up, she did a double take upon realizing that Naruto wasn't the one who'd fallen, and he was now even racing away. Staring back into the darkness, she scoffed and shook her head.

"Good riddance…"

Getting onto the walkway, she flinched when she realized how precarious it really was. Taking a deep breath, she dashed across, not wanting to deal with finding another way when she was _so close_. Eyeing the direction he was heading as soon as she was across, she paused and let her bio-computer process what direction he was heading in.

"Naruto where are you going?" She muttered, mentally plotting out where she thought he'd go, compared to where he did. Moving upwards a bit, she was one of the few who were able to see as he slipped through the crowd and eventually darted into one of the establishments that was on the edge of the district. Seeing which one it was, she flinched and moved towards it. "Oh damn it Naruto. This is going to be a royal pain."

x-=-x

"Where'd the Jedi brat go?!"

{Just find him or we'll get nothing!}

Naruto glanced back in confusion upon hearing that, darting into the nearest establishment. "What the heck? How'd they know?"

Looking around, he also realized something else. When Kuro had been leading him, he'd thought that they were heading towards the Refugee Sector. Instead, he had headed toward the Red Light Sector instead. He could tell because there were way too many people walking around with a scarcity of clothing.

Hearing the people running around still, he slipped away and tried to dart deeper into the crowd. The place smelt strange to him, perhaps more so than the Corellian Sector. There was a wide variety of things mixed in, but the one that stood out the most was oddly the thick smell of blood.

Slipping towards the back, he peeked out around the corner he was hiding behind as he saw an armored being and a human walk into the establishment. He wasn't sure if it was a bar or something else, but he supposed it was a bar with all the women walking around, taking money and passing out drinks. It likely wasn't though, as there were too many people standing and talking about something or another that he couldn't understand. He could also hear an announcer saying something in Huttenesse, which annoyed him since he still didn't understand the language.

Seeing someone pointing in his general direction, he didn't take the chance as he slipped away again. Noticing that the armored man was making their way towards where he was, he flinched and ducked back the way he'd gone. Backing into one of the doors, he was relieved as he found it was open and quickly pushed his way into the room.

The room, as it turned out, actually led to a hallway that only went deeper into the building to his right. Not wanting to get caught in such an open area, he ran down as quickly as he could move. He swore he could hear the door opening again as someone followed after him. Someone yelled at him, getting a yelp from Naruto as he ran faster. Skidding down the hall, his eyes darted around as he tried to figure out where to go as he raced down the next hallway. Seeing several doors, he picked the door furthest on his left and quickly ducked inside it.

Upon sealing the door behind him, he was stunned by what he saw in the room. He was standing on a balcony, overlooking something very large that was somewhat hidden away in the darkness. Hearing sounds from above him, he heard whatever it was bellow loudly as though replying to the shouting.

"What the hell are you?" Naruto muttered, squinting in an attempt to force his night vision to adjust faster.

As the shape took form in front of him, Naruto was startled to note that it was a very large creature, at least three times as large as the gundark had been on Alaris Prime. This creature though was a bit bulkier built in his opinion, without the large ears that was one the things that gundarks were known for which quickly ruled that out. Seeing the creature shift around in the darkness, he realized that its face was rather flat, nostrils flaring as it took slow breaths.

As his night vision began to allow him to see what was going on, he realized that it wasn't just looking around wildly; it was looking right at him, and it was a rancor.

Naruto stared at the creature, blinking as it stared at him. The faint light coming from the far wall allowed him to see its scared visage, much of its face bearing the marks of a creature that had lived a life of battle. One of its eyes was slightly blurred out, likely from some kind of fighting. As it took another deep breath, he suddenly realized that it wasn't just breathing; it was tracking, trying to make up for the lack of sight in its one eye. It leaned closer towards him, growling as faint glow of the force field that kept it contained in there arced just inches from its face.

"Whoa…" Leaning over the railing to get a bit closer, Naruto breathed out slowly as he looked the creature over again. He'd done a little bit of research on rancors, and so he knew a bit about them; their appearance and other such things since he'd been curious about the creature that had made itself a part of the Jedi's sixth form; Niman, the Moderation Form, the Way of the Rancor.

The rancor seemed curious about him as well, sniffing the air curiously as it tried to understand the small creature before it. Humans and other things had entered its room before, but this one smelt new, and it looked different. Smaller even. And yet, it couldn't get close to where the creature was, so it couldn't tell exactly what was going on.

Hearing a loud screeching, the rancor huffed and turned to the doorway. It was time once more to face the lights. The force field was shut off around the front of the room, and a strong gust of air burst from the back of the room in an attempt to move the rancor forwards. Unfortunately for Naruto, who'd been leaning over the railing, the gust of air blasted him off the railing and down onto the floor behind the rancor.

"Ow," Naruto muttered, rubbing his head. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw the rancor pause and glance down at him. As the doors opened completely, Naruto could see another creature moving out of the room on the far end. Looking up, he suddenly understood that he'd stumbled on a rancor that was part of a fight arena, and now he was going to be in the middle of one of those fights. "Oh, poodoo."

* * *

><p>AN: Aha, rather than Kuro losing Naruto, Naruto has lost Kuro. What a twist! (Not really, but after all the two times she's lost him, it would only make sense for the situation to reverse at some point.)<p>

So, now it's time for some quick Q&A

**Noradin**: You do make a good point, and trust me I'd have loved to have Naruto on the ship messing with Xanatos too. However, it dispelled itself. Why? Well…I'm going to try to be clear, yet vague since it is part of the story. So instead of fully answering I'll say this; Naruto didn't dispel it, but Kurama _needed_ to dispel it.

And to Anonymous Guest person, yes I know I've made mistakes in my story. It happens to even the best of writers. And I'm not saying that I won't go back and fix them, but I don't feel that going back right now will change the story much. It's fanfiction; meant to get your ideas out, and form a story based around how you think another person's idea could've been done, or combining multiple ideas into one. There are great writers out there, there are some who make mistakes, and there are some that just need a little work. Mine needs some elbow grease here and there to work out the kinks, but overall I haven't seen anything except for the "Kuro forgot Naruto could use clones what?" moment that was _completely_ my fault. In the future I'll try to get those smoothed out, but for now I'm trying to continue looking forwards. I am very grateful that you take my work and how it's portrayed seriously, and I am doing my best with each chapter to try and keep the quality of each one consistent, but adding improvement as well.

Also, to everyone who's mentioned it; yes, the Jedi _have _wiped people's minds before with Revan being a prime example. I didn't mention it for giggles; I have researched more than a few of the different powers of the Jedi/Sith as shown by using Doppelgangers/Force Clones. However, in the more modern times they probably would look down on that. Well, the council at least. Regardless though, the memory thing will be acknowledged soon enough.

So until next time, where we get to play around with giant fighting monsters in a dueling arena, this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkness**!


	32. Chapter 32

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Aurra resisted the urge to palm her face when she finally caught sight of Naruto. Of all the places to see him though, in the corner of the screen behind a rancor wasn't on the list.<p>

Apparently some of the others in the crowd had also noticed, and there was loud laughter and jeering coming from many of the spectators. The announcer had noticed him and pointed him out, and now all eyes were going between the two monsters lumbering onto the field with a poor helpless little boy cowering in the corner. From what she could hear from some of the different languages of the patrons, there were quite a few who were now placing bets on him. Mainly on how long people thought he'd survive in the arena.

Glancing around, she found herself surprised to see one of the more noticeable bounty hunters who now was watching the event silently. Making her way over to his armored form, sans his helmet which he was holding under his arm, she hesitated for just a second before she tapped his shoulder. "Jango Fett?"

"Who wants to know?"

"My name is Aurra Sing." She said slowly, glancing to the arena before looking back to him. "I was hoping to know what happened to the Jedi my informant was bringing here, and why my informant is in the pit."

Jango glanced at her, looking her over for a second. "Aren't you a bit young for the bounty hunter business?"

"Maybe, but that didn't answer my question." She said sharply, crossing her arms irritably. "Why is my informant in the pit?"

"He was with the Jedi when we found her, and then he kept running from us." Jango said, pinching his brow as he sighed. "We figured he was the Jedi's student. We never would have guessed he was someone's informant."

"It's because he's a kid isn't it?" She wove her lie carefully, trying not to overstep the limits of what he'd believe.

"No, it's not. I've seen young people do things that many adults wouldn't dream of doing." Jango admitted, though his memories of those people and events were not the happiest. "It's just the fact that he ran when the Jedi fell, and so we obviously would expect him to be a Jedi as well. What was he thinking?"

"Obviously he made a mistake." Aurra said with a sigh. "He was supposed to tell only me, but he probably went to the bounty office instead to get them to put out the word so that it would get to me faster. Unfortunately he also alerted every bounty hunter in the district."

"Of course it did. One doesn't just say that there's a Jedi on Nar Shaddaa poking their noses where they don't belong without calling down everyone with a gun." Jango muttered, watching the events in the ring. "Still, he's got decent reflexes, so I can see how he was outrunning us."

"True." She said, smirking as she recalled times where they'd run circles around the Jedi in the temple as kids. "For all his faults, I suppose he's still one of the most unpredictable people you'll ever meet. Stronger than he looks, and even though his fight-or-flight reflexes don't work, the way he thinks is like few others I've ever met." Thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she laughed softly as she walked over to the betting counter. "You know what, if he's going to cause me so many issues, I might as well make some money off on him."

Jango watched her go curiously, glancing between her and the boy before following after her to hear what she would do.

"Hello miss! How can I help you?" The cheerful Toydarian behind the counter asked.

"I'd like to put five hundred down on the boy in the ring." Aurra said, fishing out the money and showed it to her with a smirk.

"Oh? So you think he's gonna last long enough to make a profit then?" The Toydarian behind the counter grinned, typing into her holopad as she accepted the money. "And how long do you think he'll last then? Best to give you the odds after all."

"He's going to last the entire fight, and be able to leave when it's over."

The Toydarian glanced up at her, scoffing softly. "Lady, he's in the middle of a pit fight between a hanadak and my prize fighting rancor. If my rancor doesn't rip him apart, the hanadak will. Hanadaks are known for hunting and eating little guys like him. Besides, no one is betting he'll survive the whole round. Right now you've got thirty to one odds betting he won't even last a minute!"

"Well then, I'll put down three hundred for the same."

"What? Why would you – Jango!" The Toydarian said, pleasantly shocked by his appearance. "After all this time, you finally return to little old me? I'm flattered. How's Roz doing?"

"She's find. Still on Outland Station." Jango faintly smiled. "Still keeps telling me I need to settle down too."

"You should listen to her, she's got nothing but the finest of advice. I mean look at what I've built here!" The Toydarian motioned to the room around her. "She's the one who put me up to this, and while it don't smell great, it's got plenty of customers and fighters the likes of which you've never seen! Near cost me an arm and a leg to get the hanadak off Endor. Thankfully it wasn't mine though."

"You would side with her." He said with a soft chuckle, as he placed the money down and slid it across to her.

She seemed almost hesitant to take the money, looking between him and it slowly. "Are you sure? It's a bad bet Jango. The boy wouldn't have lasted long in the cage if it weren't for the force field. Against the two of them, he's in the wrong weight class to be fighting these monsters."

"Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us." Glancing to Aurra, he raised a brow slightly before moving to the arena. "Let's see if your informant can live up to your little boast."

"…he'd better, or I'll be down five hundred credits." Aurra muttered, moving to watch the fight.

x-=-x

Naruto really hated whoever decided that a wind tunnel was the best way to get a rancor out of its cage. He was pretty sure that he'd have been just fine, sat in the cage, and waited out the fight. Instead, he was blasted with air and thrown just outside the ring as the rancor lumbered out and roared at the air pushing it forwards. Then again, the air was also quite hot, which would have turned the cage into something like a sweat box, and he wasn't feeling too comfortable with that thought.

Staring at the enormous primate-like monster on the other side of the arena though, he was pretty sure that he'd have been okay with it by comparison.

As it was, he was busy ignoring the people of the arena who were yelling things at him. There were too many people shouting, and he just wanted to find a way out. Looking around though, he almost smacked himself as he realized there _wasn't_ any way out. It was a death pit, meant for these creatures to fight until one of them won and the other died.

Scooting back against the wall, he tried to think of some way to last against them. Briefly his mind considered using the lightsaber his master had strapped to his leg, but quickly decided against it. It was the best option besides the Force, but it would also be a clear indicator of who and what he was. And, given this was a fighting arena, there were likely to be many cameras on him.

He wasn't given to much more time to think though. The hanadak had finally taken notice of him and had decided that the easier prey was what it wanted. Lumbering forwards, it reached out in an attempt to grab him. Clearly seeing it coming, Naruto shoved himself off the wall and rushed between its legs. Sliding onto his back, he barely avoided it bringing down its hands on him as he slipped between its legs.

As he did so, his eyes widened when he saw the reptilian claw of the rancor ripping through the air above him, digging into the hanadak's back. The hanadak roared in pain before turning to face the rancor. Unlike its opponent, the rancor knew what its job was, and wasn't going to allow its opponent to be distracted.

"Oh jeez." Naruto muttered, rolling to his feet as he darted once more to the other side of the arena. If he got pinned between the two, he was fairly certain that at least one of them was going to kill him.

"Eat him!"

"Gnaw on his bones!"

{Rip him apart!}

"Oh shut up!" Naruto shouted back, diving to the side in an attempt to find anything useful. Seeing nothing, he resisted the urge to slam his head against the ground rapidly. "Okay, this is really, _really_ bad. Good to know!"

Naruto watched the two giants fighting it out in front of him with a look of awe and fear. On the one hand, the hanadak was clearly the younger and more agile of the two and was able to get a good grip on the rancor. On the other hand, the rancor was more experienced and had the strength to back it up as it leaned in and bit the hanadak's shoulder to get it to let go of it. One of its teeth, likely loosed from similar maneuvers over a long period of time, fell to the ground around their feet as the two struggled against each other.

The hanadak shoved the rancor back as it let go, growling as it stomped its foot and bellowed at its opponent. Snorting softly, the rancor simply seemed to wait it out, knowing its fellow predator would attack soon enough.

True enough the hanadak soon rushed it, albeit faster than the rancor had time to react. Striking the blind side of its face, the hanadak's more youthful and uninhibited form began pushing the rancor back. While lacking the rancor's claw-like hands, it made due with the severe blunt force its hands could deal out as it began slamming them into the rancor's side.

"You've got to be kidding me." Naruto muttered, trying not to pull out his hair as he watch the two continued to fight it out. As he spoke, the hanadak's ears twitched and it shoved the rancor back, turning once more to him. "…oh poodoo."

Naruto's eyes widened as he back peddled, mind trying to think of something, _anything_ that could save him. As it rushed him, he ran at the hanadak as well, aiming to do the same thing he'd done before. It appeared the hanadak was a quick study though, as it screeched to a halt and tried to block Naruto off. Darting back and forth in front of Naruto, he found himself in the middle of the ring with nowhere to go.

Staring up at the hair covered beast, he was now so close he could practically smell the drool that was matting down the fur around its lip. It loomed over him at more than double the height of his master, making him fell even smaller; a fact he might've commented on had the situation not been so dire. Its dark beady eyes stared at him intensely, and their narrow appearance made them seem almost angry at him. Considering how many things he usually managed to anger lately, he wouldn't be surprised.

His eyes looked around wildly for anything, he blinked when he saw something at the hanadak's feet; the rancor tooth. Darting his eyes from the tooth to the hanadak, he tried to think of how that could even help him. He was not a rancor, he was just a kid trying to stay alive. Poking it with the rancor's tooth would only piss it off and make it want to crush him even more than it already did. Still, with the rancor slowly getting up behind it, it might be the best option he had.

The main problem though, would be getting it without using the alter branch of the Force. Use the Force, and he'd be dead in a number of other ways. However, he could still sense things, and he could still utilize his control over his own form to maybe pull something off.

Deciding to go for it, he made as though he was going to his right, and then bolted forwards. The hanadak was used to its prey being limber and more agile than it was, but it found itself following Naruto's first action even so, only to realize it was now at its feet. Leaning back, it brought its foot down roughly on the ground right next to where Naruto had just been as he rolled to pick up the rancor's tooth, now behind the hanadak once more as the flipped it into a reverse grip. Rushing forward, he slammed the rancor's tooth as hard as he could into the beast's leg, getting only a startled bark seconds before he was almost knocked over by it kicking its heel back.

"What are you doing boy?! That thing is going to crush you!"

"I don't know!" Naruto shouted, darting back and forth in front of it as he tried to keep it from crushing him. At multiple opportunities he jabbed the hanadak in its ankles, trying to trip it up and keep it from stepping on him or getting a chance to grab him.

He did quite well for what he was trying to do, but in the end he was just a kid dancing around a creature he had no sense trying to fight. If anyone was going to make a dent in this fight, it was the full adult rancor that finally got back to its feet.

Once more the hanadak learned that its opponent wasn't as concerned with a tasty treat as it was, as in the middle of trying to spin around and pound Naruto into a pulp the rancor bellowed at it. Stepping forwards, it reared back and backhanded the hanadak, getting it to stumble and nearly fall over a few steps back. Shaking its head, it growled as it barked at the rancor, which stood proud and defiant to the hanadak's rage. Stomping forwards, the rancor's fingers curled as it lashed out once more, connecting with just the tip as the hanadak scooted out of range before hip checking the rancor to knock it off balance. Letting out a soft screech, the rancor stumbled back, barely able to stay upright as it was clobbered by the hanadak and forced to back up another step so that it wouldn't lose its footing.

Naruto stared at the battling behemoths, feeling quite small and helpless in the face of their battle. It was a feeling not unlike that of when he would watch two masters spar, their eyes almost never leaving each other as they dueled it out, only these two were both some of the biggest and most overwhelming forces he'd ever laid eyes on. And with how they were fighting, he was also pretty sure that the rancor might lose; which would be incredibly bad for his health.

Gripping the rancor tooth in his hand, he tried thinking of a new plan. Looking between the fighting and the tooth, Naruto let the gears in his mind whir rapidly before clicking with a plan. "That could work."

The rancor wasn't trying to kill him. In fact, his presence for the beginning was given nothing more than simple curiosity. He hadn't attacked it, so he wasn't an enemy, and he wasn't a large creature that was clearly its enemy either; just some kid that had wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. That meant if he wanted even a chance, he'd have to side with the rancor, and help it kill the hanadak. He already had "be annoying and poke it" on his list of things he could do crossed off, but the next idea was both dangerous, and clever at the same time.

Opening himself up to the Force, he let it reach out to brush against the rancor. The rancor balked initially, still in the middle of its brawl, but when he sent it the impression to step in to attack it didn't hesitate. The hanadak was going berserk, and was caught off guard by the change, stumbling back and on the defense now as the rancor charged into it and slammed it into the wall.

Turning to look at Naruto, it gave a curious hum as it looked him over. As it did so, Naruto got the distinct impression that it was aware. That it _knew_ he'd done something with it. It didn't seem to know what, and it didn't seem to care any further than simply being curious, but the intelligence in its eyes startled him a bit. He'd almost thought that this was a large beast he could direct and point things out to so that he could get away; not a near-sentient being that would be able to recognize when someone was helping him.

Catching sight of the hanadak getting back up, he flinched as he shouted, "Look out!"

The rancor was confused by his shout, and stepped back. The hanadak on the other hand, was staring directly at Naruto once more and had ignored the rancor entirely. Drool dripping down its lips in exhaustion, it bellowed loudly as it raged forwards, rushing right at him with a wild, unchained look on its face. Naruto had barely a second to leap away as the hanadak skid up to him, slamming its hands on either side of him as it tried to herd Naruto into a corner.

Naruto's eyes widened in fear and pain when the hanadak's hands made the ground beneath him shake enough to make him flinch, knowing that was likely the end for him. It took full advantage of his wobbling state, grabbing him roughly with both hands and brought it to eyes level. In the back of his mind, he silently was screaming as he locked eyes with the beast, a feeling of despair growing with each panicked breath. Growling softly, its beady eyes stared into Naruto's, and Naruto got the feeling this would not end well for him.

x-=-x

"It's over." Jango said softly, looking almost disappointed. The boy was something of a marvel; fighting rather than simply staying a spectator, and almost holding his own with nothing more than a rancor's tooth. Considering the infamy Jango had built for a somewhat similar action of fighting in outmatched circumstances, he felt he could admire the boy's tenacity. However, with the hanadak simply looking for a quick meal, he hadn't stood much of a chance.

Aurra had to physically restrain herself from leaping in after Naruto. Unlike the others in the room, she could feel everything Naruto felt. From the moment he opened himself up to the Force to now, she could feel ever small spike of elation, the fear he felt as he dodged the hanadak, and now the terror of knowing that a creature was going to take his life. She would never make it to him regardless; not with the ray shields that kept the rancor and hanadak from trying to get out and attack the audience.

Closing her eyes, she slowly shook her head. "…well, that was faster than I imagined. I'm so–"

Before she could whisper her apologies to him, thunderous roar shook the railing and startled her. Eyes snapping open, she gawked silently as she stared into the pit once more. Wincing at the sound of bones being snapped, her mind barely being able to piece together the impossibility of what she was not witnessing.

"There's no way." Jango muttered, watching the spectacle with wide eyes.

There, in the center of the ring, Naruto had been freed. But his liberator was a captive themselves; the very rancor whose cell he'd emerged from.

x-=-x

Rancor's were not renowned for their intelligence as they were only regarded as "semi-sentient", however there were some who seemed to possess slightly higher than average intelligence than normal. She who fought in the pit, was one of those.

There was a time in her memory when she remembered a grassland. She could almost smell the green of the trees as she'd ride on her mother's back, watching things move around her with a weightlessness that she determined was "life". She knew this because each time she hunted and killed something they changed; they lost that weightlessness in them. They became something else. Something she had no concept of.

When they came for her she was still young, barely old enough to wander on her own. They'd been more clever than her, harder to catch than her normal prey, and had blinded her with a flashing light before something had forced her to sleep. After she'd awoken, she'd found herself in a cold, dark room, with nothing there but the bones of her last meal.

All she knew now was battle. She'd fought hard, and she'd learned many things. She'd learned that when the doors opened, something else would be coming out as well, and that thing would try to kill her. So, she'd stopped being on the defense, and had learned to attack. Such thoughts led to her losing her right eye, but at the end of the day she was still alive, was still able to fight, and was still able to live.

Then today something strange happened. A being came into her room. She'd had many smelling people come near her room, even pass by with their scent lingering as they left, but they'd never come _into_ her room. The only one who'd ever done so was the one who squawked and shouted at those who helped tend to her wounds, and those who did so had no scent, so she paid them no mind.

This one was different. They'd not left, or smelt of fear. There was a curious sensation on their smell, and as they reached out to her, she felt it too. She'd felt this strange feeling on her home world, that full feeling of life. Here that feeling of life was empty, hollow, and blank. As she turned and took a deep sniff of their scent, she got a plethora of lingering scents and feelings. Fear, confusion, excitement, happy, life, the trees.

Were she any other being she might have cried out. The trees, she could smell them once again on the being. No, not just a being. When she'd turned she'd seen them and knew this kind by name; human. One group of beings she'd heard the one squawk about on many an occasion, but this one was small. Was it a runt? A human that hadn't grown to full size? No, it was too full of energy; just a pup who'd lost their way then. She'd never had pups. She remembered her litter mate, who'd remained back on their home. What ever happened to them she'd wondered? Did they still smell the trees of their home?

Before she could ponder this, to perhaps even discover more about this tiny being, the doors opened and a blast of hot air struck her back. Grunting softly, she realized that she was being called out to fight once more. As the doors opened, she could see a fuzzy image before her; another one of those fur creatures? It didn't matter, they all lost their life the same.

She'd circled around, looking at the creature curiously. No, this one was new. But then, new didn't matter. It was large, and it breathed like an enemy. Instead of it turning to engage her though, it lumbered past her towards something else, turning its back to her; a crucial error on its part.

Striking it in the back, she was surprised to note that something slipped between its legs. The pup? What was it doing here? This was no place for pups! But then, if it was lost, then perhaps it had not known the dangers? No matter, the furry enemy would not have time to look at it. She would not give it time.

When the creature grabbed her in a hold meant to crush her chest, she leaned down and bit into it. She idly noted that something was dislodged from her mouth, but then that had happened several times before, and she needed to focus on this. Stepping back, she waited for the creature to charge. They always charged, and they always met the same fate.

Years of experience kept her from being bowled over when it struck, and it startled her how quick this creature was. It was certainly new, more nimble than any other creature she'd fought except the one with the strange ears. That one had tasted delicious.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the side of her head, and she stumbled. When had it hit her? She swore she could see it quite clearly, and yet now she could only feel the throbbing in her skull. Another sharp blow pushed her further back, and with each one she struggled to keep her footing before finally collapsing when the creature shoved her away.

Once again, she felt that feeling of life flowing from the pup as it continued to move about in the arena. Where was the creature? Why had it not killed her? Getting to her feet, she bellowed as she realized that the creature had deemed the pup, harmless and innocent, was more of a threat than _her._ Its second mistake.

Reengaging in close combat, she could tell that for all her bravado and experience, the youthful strength and vigor of the creature was pushing her back. Soon, she would find herself pinned down, crushed, and eaten. Still, she was a fighter, and she wouldn't lose just yet.

Then, when she was almost certain she'd slip again, the feeling of life enveloped her. So startled by it, she almost forgot about the creature as she felt the pup urge her to slam into it. There was no room for hesitation or doubt. She simply needed to act. So, lowering her head, she rushed the berserk creature and threw it up against the wall, hearing the satisfying thud of its skull hitting the arena.

Turning to the pup, she stared at their direction. The life coming from it was filled with emotions the likes of which she'd never felt, but suddenly found names for; awe, wonder, elation, and worry. Such emotions, were they hers? No, surely they were the pup's.

"Look out!"

Such foreign words, mixed with a burst of worry caused her to stumble back. Had she startled it? No, the creature, it wasn't dead yet. She readied herself for another confrontation with it only to have it ignore her once more. The pup was darting around, chased by it as she tried in vain to keep up with her eyes; the blurry shapes moved to swiftly for her mind to fully process. Then, the creature seemed to pick something up, moving much slower now that it had it. The pup, the pup was in danger!

Then, another wave of life flowed over her. This one though was different. It reminded her of the ancient one, who had one walked past her family with the proud and powerful feeling in his life that made her tremble slightly. A being of power, and position, who stood upon the mountains without fear of anything. This life though, was filled with that same worry that the pup had before.

"_Save the pup."_

She didn't need to be told twice. Bellowing louder than she'd ever done before, she thundered across the arena. There was no pause between her striking it and it being pinned between her and the wall. Gripping its shoulder to push it roughly against the arena, she drew her other arm back and slammed it against the creatures arm with a pleasant crack that caused it to shriek in pain. She could feel the pup fall to the ground, and felt relief yet also anger build within her.

It had made its final mistake.

Leaning down, she swept its feet out from under it and forcefully laid it on its back. Gripping its leg, she dragged it into the center of the arena. The cheering was always loudest when she killed in the very center. Letting go of the leg, she growled as it tried to get up, trying so hard to crawl away from her. Stomping her foot down on its good arm, she slowly brought her other foot and slammed it on its chest.

Slowly arching she back so that she was eye to eye with it, she let it look into her eyes, see her intelligence, and perhaps even know that she was angered. Then, with a final bellow, she lifted her foot from its chest and brought it down with a powerful slam that cracked its ribs. The creature shrieked in pain, but there was not time for that; the ancient one wanted the pup saved, and she would save it.

Slamming her foot down again, she heard its breathing become ragged. She'd seen this happen before in a fight, right before her foe had collapsed. Good, she was almost there. Leaning back, she brought her foot down one last time, the sound of bones being crushed beneath her feet almost echoing the silent room. Then, rearing back, she shouted to the heavens of her victory.

She had done it. She had saved the pup. She had made her family and the ancient ones proud. And, once again, she was the almighty queen of the arena.

* * *

><p>AN: I gotta say, writing the last part is probably going to be my favorite part of the day. Just…the fact that they're semi-intelligent creatures that are capable of learning and adapting…they're just so awesome! Heck, even Luke when talking about Jabba's rancor he killed (spoilers for Episode VI in case no one has watched one of the most amazing movies) said that it was a shame and that rancor's were "such fine creatures". So I hope I did this gal justice.<p>

Also, just so you all are aware, _no_ I didn't forget about the holocron or what happened on Alaris Prime. It's just that the holocron itself was contained so the Jedi aren't as worried about it, and with how things were moving kind of fast, Kuro…well, you'll see in the coming chapters. Like I've said, I have a plan for everything. Thank you all for noticing that it wasn't addressed though; I promise, I will make sure it's brought up.

So, next chapter we'll _finally_ get started on Naruto and Aurra's reunion! Oh man, that'll be exciting. They can talk about their adventures, and the people they've met, and how Aurra hates the Jedi, and…oh wait.

This was another fun chapter of **From Darkness**, so until next time, take care!


	33. Chapter 33

AN: I don't own Star Wars or Naruto.

* * *

><p>"Your boy's got quite the luck." Jango said as he watched the roaring rancor in the arena with a critical eye.<p>

He'd expected the boy to be hanadak food, and then suddenly the rancor had stepped in and stopped it. Even without the fact that the rancor had stepped in, he still admired the boy for being able to mentally hold his own against the two monsters in the ring. Given enough time and training, there was the distinct possibility that he might be able to make something of himself. Were he not already in the care of another bounty hunter, he would have at the very least considered taking the boy under his wing. With gumption like his, his ability to think on his feet, and willingness to fight despite the odds, he'd make a fine Mandalorian.

That thought made him shake his head. He was not the same man he was on Galidraan. His time as a slave had given him a lot of time to think about who he was, what sort of leader he was supposed to be, and he came to the realization he needed more time to determine if he was truly worthy to be Mand'alor. There was still so much he needed to, and right now he was earning his keep as a bounty hunter.

Watching Aurra, he chuckled softly as he noted her look of complete shock. "It looks like you're just as stunned as everyone else."

"…I told you he was unpredictable." She muttered, shaking her head as she turned towards Jango. "I swear though, he should _not _be so unpredictable all the time."

"He got extraordinary good luck." Jango glanced back to the boy, who was now hesitantly approaching the rancor who seemed to be almost happy to see him do so. "It also seems he's made a new friend."

"What?!" Aurra leaned over the railing with wide eyes. "Oh my – I'm gonna kill him."

As she stormed down to somewhere that she could get to Naruto, Jango turned back to the bar. "So, was it what you expected?"

"I think everyone here is a bit stunned as your friend. He's not even rancor meat, he's just…making my prized rancor a purring pet." The Toydarian shook her head at the bizarre sight, frowning slightly before sighing. "You know, maybe it is time I retire the old girl. She's been fighting for so long, it'd be a waste."

"…you just don't want to waste good stock where there's potential that its children might be as capable as it is don't you?" Jango asked, getting a large grin from her.

"But of course! She might be getting towards the end of her career, but I can always get another strong bull rancor or something after this profit. Besides, she's not once lost a match, so I wouldn't be surprised at all to see any child of hers become a monster in my arena." Tapping her credits, she counted out a fairly large amount before sliding it over to Jango. "Here's your credits from the bet. Don't worry, I already took my share, so everything there is one hundred percent yours."

Jango nodded idly, taking the credits to count them out. As soon as he'd finished counting he paused and recounted the amount. "Seven thousand credits?"

"Well, everyone else didn't think he'd survive, so they all bet against him. Not everyone bet a huge sum, but since no one bet _for _him, you and your friend over there got yourselves quite a large sum." She paused, glancing to where Aurra was hesitantly. "…mind doing me a quick favor?" Getting a hesitant nod from Jango, she slowly thought out what she wanted to ask. "That girl over there, can you make sure she at least gets out of here alive?"

Jango stared at her for a moment before nodding. "You're worried someone will think she rigged the bets?"

She rolled her eyes at that, crossing her arms. "She's not a common customer to be sure, but I know her. She's as aggressive as a Wookiee about cheating and would more likely shoot someone for trying to cheat than attempt to cheat. Some people though might be bitter and attempt to go after her because they're vindictive about losing. I'd call the Hutts on them, but some people are rather…ignorant."

"Ignorant is to kind a word for people who don' t know how Hutts handle cheaters." Jango had seen it firsthand; the rancor in the pit being a good visual on what would happen. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for you. Besides," He tapped the credits as he slipped them into his pocket. "It was thanks to her I got this. Besides, I want to stick around. Who knows, I might see some more interesting things."

"Mm? Something on your mind?"

Crossing his arms, he stared down into the pit. "I don't believe for a second that the boy isn't a Jedi, but if she knows him then that means that he wasn't meant to be here. But if he is here…where's his master?"

x-=-x

Garbage scows aren't known for having a variety of uses. Their purpose is to take garbage from the upper levels of Nar Shaddaa and take it down to where it could be processed in the lower levels. However, some people found other uses for it; hiding materials, bodies, or even secretly transporting people down to the Undercity. No one would imagine that it would one day be used to break the fall of a Jedi master.

An'ya Kuro was never happier to have fallen into the garbage scow, though admittedly the smell wasn't pleasant in the slightest. Also her landing hadn't been the softest. But the Force had watched out for her, and it allowed her to travel down to the Undercity.

Looking down to the darkness as she travelled down, she flinched as she reached out with the Force. The expanse below was something she didn't wish to go towards, but already knew that this was where she needed to be. Surrendering herself to the Force, she allowed it to flush out her body to help ignore the stench that would otherwise cloud her mind. It also allowed her to be guided as to what she needed to do once she got down there.

Slowly opening her eyes, she felt that she needed to leave the scow. Not questioning it, she leapt from the edge of it and pushed herself as far as she could forwards, her eyes adjusting to the darkness just in time to see a ledge that she could grab onto. Using her momentum, she quickly swung herself up onto the ledge.

Glancing around, she realized she was in some sort of old styled apartments. Likely it was part of the original structures that had been built before the final parts of the Vertical City had built upwards and onwards into the upper atmosphere. Glancing around towards the lower levels, she frowned at the bottom levels as she saw faint lights and the whooping of people shouting.

Making her way lower, she stood above them and stared down, watching them carefully. It appeared it was some group of pale humanoids, gathered together in a group as they sifted through the scow they'd just received. Reaching inwards, they pulled out pieces of technology from the bin, passing it from one to the other. Leaning over a bit more, she tried to see what exactly what it was, but couldn't from her current position.

Before she could lean further out, something moved from within the scow. One of the beings noticed and shouted something to the others. Getting them to pass them a vibroblade, they jumped onto where the movement had been. Slamming it roughly into the trash, she flinched when she heard a pained cry. Apparently they heard it as well, because they roared and slammed the vibroblade rapidly into the being, wailing on them continually until whatever it was that had been in the scow became silent. The being in the scow grunted, and threw the blade back to the others before continuing.

An'ya had to take a couple of seconds to try and understand what she'd just seen. Leaning back, she bit her lip as she considered what it was. Illegal technology wasn't uncommon on Nar Shaddaa as there weren't any real laws or regulations about what people could and could not do. However, those were still usually done in some of the upper levels, built on top of the others that had come before it. Technology rarely made it this far down, and these beings seemed all too eager to kill to protect it.

Looking down, she saw a group of swoop bikes parked behind them. She considered that they were some kind of swoop gang, but that didn't make sense in her mind. Swoop gangs might be violent at times, but even for Nar Shaddaa their swiftness to kill the other being in the scow seemed out of place. The thing that almost made it worse was that the Force was telling her to follow them.

The problem with this was their attitude. If they were so willing to kill beings in the scow, then that meant her hiding in the scow that they were pulling behind them could be just as dangerous. Biting her lip when she thought about a good option that might work, she leaned back and waited.

After they'd gotten all the technology together and put into the scow, she snuck around to the edge of the building. Dropping down, to ground level, she waited until they'd hooked the scow up to the swoops before darting forwards. Gripping the back of the scow, she held herself tightly against it and began bending light around her form. Hopefully, if her assumption was correct, they were still beings that relied on sight, and she'd be able to slip past once they stopped.

Closing her eyes, she let herself sink further into the Force to focus on holding on. She dug her fingers deeply into the durasteel, holding on for dear life as the swoops gunned their engines and rocketed forwards. Whatever it was they were doing, she trusted the Force to guide her.

And, perhaps more importantly at the moment, she trusted the Force to guide her back to her padawan.

x-=-x

"Who's a good rancor?" Naruto said softly, rubbing the rancor's forehead as she made a sound somewhere between a growl and a purr. It'd surprised him when it suddenly leaned down after crushing the other monster's chest, but after nearly being crushed by it he wasn't sure what to feel about it all. All he knew was that if the rancor crushed the other monster, he wasn't going to withhold anything she wanted.

That, and he felt her emotions in the Force; pleased, satisfied, triumphant, and protective. It was an interesting thing to feel from a creature, especially from one he'd just met. Then again, he'd reached out to her with the Force and she'd recognized that he'd done so. It was really amazing to think that she was so intelligent.

Seeing her turn towards something with a growl, he blinked and turned with her. For a second, he felt like his mind completely shut down, jaw dropping slowly as he hesitantly reached out for her. Was he hallucinating again? No, he couldn't be. He wouldn't let himself believe that he'd just imagined all of this. That had been _very_ real, which meant this was too.

"Aurra."

She stood off to the side, staring at him with that look she'd given him when they'd been young; the flat look where she was trying very hard not to be amused by what she'd seen him do. In the years since he'd seen her she'd grown quite a bit taller, and had filled out in her more feminine features as well. She was wearing a sleeveless leather shirt and boots, with dark orange pants with a belt of all kinds of equipment strapped to it. There was something sticking out of her head, some kind of antenna, though that didn't distract him from the fact that she was here.

"You're an idiot Naruto." Aurra said after a moment of silence. Her face split into a grin, motioning to him to come to her; she wasn't dumb enough to approach the rancor. "Well? You just gonna stand there or what?"

Naruto didn't need any second invite. He rushed across the field and all but tackle hugged her. She was real. She was _real. _And she was alive.

The rancor growled at the new human in the area, but allowed them to touch the pup. The words still echoed in her mind, making her want to keep the pup safe. However, if the pup was going to rush into the others embrace, she would allow it. She would simply keep a watchful gaze and wait, ready to lash out and crush the being if it did anything to harm the pup.

Naruto felt her pushing him back, and it took a second before he finally allowed her to do so. He didn't want to let her go, to lose her again, but if she was here he didn't have to. Now, he'd be able to protect her. Suddenly, she flicked his forehead, getting him to flinch and the rancor to hiss. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You're an idiot, and you deserved it." She said, still grinning at him. "Besides, you just wrestled with a hanadak. I'm sure you can take a little flick to your head."

"Yeah, but it still startles me." Naruto muttered, unable to keep the smile from his face. "Um…"

"Let's take this somewhere else shall we?" Aurra said, motioning to the area around her. "This…isn't exactly the place to be having a reunion now, is it?"

"I dunno." Naruto said with a shrug. "I kinda like the rancor. She's really nice, and she protected me. Hm…" He glanced back to the rancor with a grin. "Do you think if I gave her a name the Council would let me keep her?"

He didn't see her flinch at his question, or that she seemed uncomfortable. "I don't think so. Just, come with me already."

"Oh, okay." He waved to the rancor with a faint smile. "Bye girl. I'll try to come back and see you later okay?"

The rancor seemed to understand that he was leaving and made an odd noise, like it was upset to see him leave. Still, she seemed to accept that he needed to leave, and softly barked before turning to the hanadak. Grabbing its leg, she dragged it back to her room for her next meal, not one to waste what was given to her.

Naruto watched her leave, silently glad that he wouldn't be around to see her eat the creature. Turning back to Aurra, she motioned for him to follow her towards a ladder that was part of the wall. Looking up, he saw another man standing at the top of the ladder and turned to Aurra. "Who's that?"

Aurra glanced up, internally flinching at the sight of Jango sticking around. "That's Jango Fett, a galaxy renown bounty hunter." Turning to Naruto, she motioned again for him to lead the way. As he passed, her next words hissed between her teeth. "You are my informant, and work for me occasionally. Say nothing more than that if he asks, understand?"

Naruto didn't nod, moving up the ladder slowly. The first part had almost made his blood freeze over, remembering that he and An'ya had been followed by bounty hunters not even twenty minutes before. Now there was a bounty hunter standing over him and watching him as he climbed up. Was he here to capture him? To kill him? Well, after what had just happened, he wasn't feeling particularly afraid of a man. Being between two creatures who were fighting to the death and nearly being crushed by one would do that to a person.

Pulling himself up, the man stepped back and completely ignored him. Naruto stepped to the side, letting Aurra follow him up after him. When she got up, Jango reached out a hand and helped pull her the rest of the way up. Naruto watched the two silently, blinking in confusion as he held out a large group of credits.

"_No."_ Naruto felt his insides clench. _"No, not Aurra…please no…"_

"Here's the credits you won for your bet." Jango said with a smirk, glancing to Naruto. "You did your employer proud boy. She was one of the only two people to say you'd survive being in the pit."

Naruto blinked. "Wait." He blinked again. "You bet on me?"

Aurra looked away sheepishly, trying not to look flustered. "Well, you were being an absolute pain, and if there's anyone who's got the stupidest of luck it's you. So I figured I'd make it worth it while we were here."

"But…you still bet that I'd win. That I'd survive." Naruto let out a small breath as he grinned as bright as he could.

He'd been wrong. For a second every part of him swore that she'd betrayed him. Every instance of things going wrong had flashed before his eyes as for a second before he'd heard that she'd bet on him. And she'd believed in him. It was strange to think that someone who hadn't seen him in almost seven years believed in him more than he felt some of the masters in the order believed in him.

"Of course you'd survive." She said, lightly punching his shoulder. "You're too stubborn to die."

"After that display, I can believe it." Jango said, chuckling softly. "I'm also very glad to have decided to believe your friend here. Your display was something else. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do something like that before. Going after a hanadak like that with nothing more than a rancor's tooth would be suicidal, and yet you not only survived, but you fought back."

Naruto nodded, sheepishly shrugging at that. He had the tooth slipped into his belt, not really wanting to leave it behind after all that had happened with it. Something like a trophy, or maybe just a way to remember the rancor who'd saved his life. "Thanks. It was really terrifying to be honest, but then, I'm alive so that's gotta count for something right?"

"I'd say so." Jango said with a twinkle in his eye as he held out his hand to Naruto. "You're an interesting kid. I look forward to seeing what you'll become in the future."

Slowly, Naruto took Jango's hand and gave it a firm grip back as he shook hands with him. "Well, I'll just have to make sure that I make a really big name for myself then."

"I'll keep an ear out for it." Looking to Aurra, they locked eyes and a silent understanding seemed to pass between them before Jango gave her a nod as well. "I'll be keeping an ear out for anything you're doing as well."

"Right." Aurra said, not truly caring about making a name for herself. However, seeing how he would be keeping an eye out for her, it wouldn't hurt to make a name for herself.

Jango began walking away, only to feel a hand on his arm. Turning around, he raised an eyebrow at Naruto who'd stopped him from leaving. "Hey, you didn't even ask my name."

"…so I didn't." Jango said with a smirk. "I guess I'll learn it when you make a name for yourself then, won't I?"

"I…but, what?" Naruto asked in confusion as Jango walked off. "Well, okay then. He's a weird guy."

Aurra nodded, sighing as he left. He'd let Naruto and her off the hook when he very well could've just taken both of them out and turned Naruto in. Biting her lip as she looked at the credits, she stared at them blankly for a moment before suddenly gripping Naruto's shoulder and maneuvered him out of the establishment. "Alright, come on, we've got to go."

Naruto stumbled a bit, confused by her sudden change in attitude. "Wait what? Where are we going?"

Looking back to the amount of credits in her hand, she grinned as she guided him towards the Duros Sector. "Shopping."

x-=-x

He watched her silently as she'd walked away from the establishment with a boy in tow. Narrowing his eyes, he scowled as he followed her, making sure to keep his distance to ensure that she didn't catch sight or wind of him, or his presence.

She should have known that he wouldn't have just let her go. Her distrusting and closed off nature had kept her at bay for quite a while, but she couldn't keep him away forever. He didn't want to change that determined defiance; after all, it's what drew him to her. Staying just out of reach, ever beautiful, and something that he would crave for his eternity.

And yet Torgo couldn't stand this sight. To see her, leaving him to run around in the Red District with some boy, barely even an adolescent, was disgraceful. After trailing her though, he'd also come to another startling realization; her behavior had been changing while with the boy.

Because of her training with the Anzati, she'd been learning to cut herself off from her emotions. A cold hearted and merciless entity like those who'd trained her. Their whole purpose and being was to consume the soup of their prey, and little else in life was beyond that. With each day, they'd trained her to think of nothing else; only on the hunt. It didn't need to be a hunt for a person, for food, or for anything else in particular. She just needed to detach herself from everything but the hunt, and on how she could complete her hunt.

And yet he swore he saw her acting very peculiar with this boy. She'd begun by guiding him, like a target or a bounty who she planned to bring in alive, only to bring him back to her side to keep him close. That distance made the boy a threat to her if he turned on her in any other scenario, and yet she'd walked beside him as though it were some leisurely stroll. Which brought him to the startling, and frustrating conclusion he didn't wish to think of; this wasn't a hunt.

This boy, this infant who was barely more than a _speck_ in the eyes of eternity, had somehow slipped within her guard, gotten her to drop it, and was not acting nonchalant as he walked with her. Were he a century older he could never _begin_ to comprehend the person who he was walking with. How _dare_ he…

Torgo took a deep breath, refocusing as he tried to quell the urges that had risen within him. As he stared at the boy, he slowly let his lips curl as he pieced everything together into a plan. It was so simple a thought that shifting his perspective was hardly difficult at all.

The boy was his next hunt. Soon, he would feast upon this boy's soup, and he'd never worry about Aurra becoming so distracted ever again.

x-=-x

Whatever type of shopping Naruto had expected, Aurra's kind of shopping had not been what he'd expected. At first he'd expected them to be doing some actual shopping, but upon looking around the first place that she took him to, he realized that this was not your average establishment. For one, the place was littered with experimental technology, weaponry, and other such things. The other thing that caught him off guard was the mark of the Trade Federation logo on several of the items.

"Why is the Trade Federation making stuff here?" Naruto asked, picking up a comlink curiously.

"There are a lot of companies that have sub companies on Nar Shaddaa." Aurra said casually, not really noticing Naruto's confusion as such a thing was common from what she'd seen. "They're the parts that wouldn't normally be allowed, but Nar Shaddaa doesn't care about such laws that the galaxy struggles with."

Naruto turned the comlink over in his hand slowly before putting it back. Glancing around, he couldn't see any reason why they were there, but he trusted Aurra. There was a reason, he just had to wait for it.

"Where are you?" Aurra hummed softly as she looked all the items over. She'd seen it just a few days before and had almost put it completely out of her mind. Thankfully, not only had she remembered it, but it hadn't been sold or stolen before she'd gotten to it. Picking it up, she hesitated and kept the item hidden as she turned to Naruto. "Alright I found it. Naruto, don't go anywhere, I need to haggle for a bit okay?"

"Haggle? Um, okay." Naruto blinked, shrugging as he looked at everything.

Everything in the room was foreign, strange, and yet it was very interesting. He tried not to touch too many things, afraid that someone would start yelling at him for one reason or another. When something caught his eye though, he'd dart over to inspect it curiously, like a small creature looking at something new that had been added to a room. None of these items were on the wholesale galactic market, and some of those that looked more dangerous he got the feeling never would be.

Sensing Aurra walk up behind him, he grinned as he turned to face her. "What's up?"

"I got you something." She said, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. Pulling out the item, she handed it him gently, perhaps more so than was needed. "Here. Happy birthday…and for all the ones that I missed."

Naruto stared at the item as it was placed in his hands. It was a very strange box-like device that looked like it had a comlink add on; one that he was certain a manufacture wouldn't _ever_ want near their devices. Turning it over in his hands, he inspected it carefully. Seeing nothing about it that was remarkable, he glanced up at her. "What is it?"

"It's an experimental scrambler." She said with a small grin, pointing from to the comlink piece to the main body of it. "See, this is for communicating across a planet, without anyone being able to find your location. The box one is so that you can send messages only to the person with the other box, and it won't let anyone know where the other is communicating from anywhere in the galaxy. Absolute anonymity, and finally small enough for personal use." Pulling out a second one, she slipped it into her pouch. "I have the other one, so…it's a way for us to stay in contact no matter where we are in galaxy."

Running his hand across the box, Naruto suddenly felt it was a very, _very_ important item to have and held it close. "…I…don't know what to say. I…wait, is it my birthday?"

"Um, by the galactic standard calendar, it was three or four days ago. Why?"

"Oh." Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Well, you see, I've kinda been running around the galaxy, and I lost track of time. I…wow, I'm twelve now. It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since we last saw each other."

"Yeah…" Aurra rubbed her shoulder awkwardly, glancing around the room. As she did, she noticed several people outside the door trying to look inconspicuous and rolled her eyes. "Oh for the love of – come on."

"Huh?"

"We're going somewhere else. Somewhere safer." She paused, glancing back to Naruto was a curious look on her face. "Hey Naruto, have you ever ridden a swoop before?"

"Um, no. Why?"

x-=-x

Xanatos slowly stepped out of his ship yet again, growling as he tried not to simply destroy his transmitter completely after his last call from Walla. Apparently his progress was proving to be "to slow" for the Hutt, and he was demanding progress. While he'd told Walla that he'd already gotten things moving, Walla had insisted upon results by the end of the day. For a Hutt who was supposedly one of the great gun and slave traders of the galaxy, he certainly seemed more impatient then was healthy for him.

Being on Nar Shaddaa reminded him of the contract he was currently in, and the obligation he was currently under. When he'd lost his arm, he'd been awoken to the fact that his business was failing, and failing fast due to his single minded devotion to strip mining a barren rock. Having no money, and needing a new arm, he'd done what he could to work with anyone he could. After some time, he'd tried to go as high as the Banking Clan, only to have them swiftly reject his request for a loan. Apparently his business had been heard of by them, and they wanted no part of it without results.

He'd gotten the idea that had eventually led him on his ventures under Walla the Hutt by a Muun named Hego Damask, who had bluntly stated that he'd have more luck getting money for a loan from a Hutt. Taking his words perhaps more to heart than was intended, he'd found Walla and negotiated a deal; he'd run some missions, and Walla would keep his business alive. Walla had accepted, but soon after that the deal had gone sour.

One of his ships had been attacked by a competitor, and with it the guns that were being shipped were almost lost. Turning again to Walla, he found that even before he spoke to him, Walla had dispatched a group of assassins to take care of his competition. Before the end of the week, the weapons and ships had been returned with little to no damage at all. Thoroughly impressed, Xanatos had foolishly tried to deepen his connections with Walla to get access to further, and perhaps even more underworld contacts.

What he hadn't known was that Walla was expecting something in return for all this. Access to assassins didn't come cheap, and while they did their job better than anyone else, the price had gone from ridiculous like training a child, to absurd – like his latest mission.

Thankfully, the Evocii – the original, but now mutated inhabitants of Nal Hutta – were so twisted that a few pushes here and there guided their hands to do his bidding. With them, he had already finished with the ship, and was working on the carriers. The final part would be the droids, as doing the ship first gave them the ability to move it to any site where they could then work on the cargo held within. And considering some of the cargo, he'd made sure to give them a kill on sight order so that nothing got even so much as _breathing distance_ to what was now being loaded onto the carrier.

Looking out over the small group of Evocii that were scurrying around between some of the worker droids of the space station area, he snorted as he turned and walked back towards his office. He had work to do, and when he was done, there would be no one left to stop him from finishing what he'd started so many years ago.

* * *

><p>AN: A lot of things going on in this chapter, but then it's just all the little pieces of the puzzle getting put into place. Don't worry about our Queen of the Arena, she's not gone yet. She's conquered the arena, but after meeting Naruto, she's not going to want to stay stuck in one place after all.<p>

Also, to **Konerok Hadorak**, you are right; it does seem like Naruto's actions were brushed under the rug. But then, I haven't gotten to the end of this arc, so I can't have Qui-gon giving_ his_ report now can I? You don't have to trust me, just know that I didn't forget about it. It did happen, and all things that happen have consequences.

So, since there weren't any questions besides " Whoo make the rancor Naruto's friend!" (like I said, she's got more coming), this has been another fun chapter of **From Darkeness**, and I'll see you all in the next one.


	34. Chapter 34

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Moving through the city of Nar Shaddaa, Naruto held tightly onto Aurra as she powered her swoop in a tight arc under the larger vehicles. If she hadn't given him a set of goggles, he'd be unable to see anything, although with how fast they were going it was very difficult to see anything in the first place. Thankfully he and Aurra both could feel the Force, which allowed them to feel the flow of traffic and allowed Naruto some sense of added security as they moved almost inches from various vehicles.<p>

Aurra kept focused forwards, ignoring the cursing of the various beings as she shot through the city. She knew that there were still some people that had been trying to follow her for whatever reason, and she'd decided to get as far away as possible. She knew of some safe houses she and Torgo had set up, but she didn't want Torgo getting anywhere near Naruto. The Anzat was a problem on his own, she didn't need him getting mixed up with Naruto.

Restraining herself from glancing back, she silently wondered if what she'd given him was the right gift. Initially when she'd left the pit fight, her thoughts were thinking that if she gave it to him and he were to leave, she could keep in contact with him. But now that she'd begun spending more time with him, she realized that she couldn't see him as a Jedi anymore. The Jedi were people she hated – no, that she loathed – and wished dead in many ways.

Naruto wasn't like that. He was kind, he took time to understand her, he'd thought highly of her even now, and when he'd met up with her he'd embraced her as though she'd never left. She was still a bit nervous about that part, but then that's why she was taking him to one of the few hideaways that she'd begun to set up for herself. It had been seven years, and it was time to finally begin really catching up.

Diving down to some of the lower levels, she slipped into an alley and headed towards the first safe house she'd made. There wasn't much too much to it yet; just a few supplies that would allow her to regroup if she needed to. It also was one that she'd told no one yet, so she'd get quite a bit more time to speak with him without interruption.

She could feel Naruto's elation at the high speeds of the swoop bike, and sighed. After all the training she'd done with so many vehicles, she'd found the swoop to give her the most speed, maneuverability, and a sense of control that few others did. Feeling Naruto's enjoyment, she had the fleeting thought that she should teach Naruto how to ride a swoop. The thought was gently pushed away, not wanting to get ahead of herself.

Guiding the swoop in, she slipped into the little garage/hanger that housed a few of the other vehicles that she had acquired over her currently short profession. Slowly powering it down, she glanced back as Naruto sat there silently for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. "Well, what do you think?"

Naruto blinked rapidly, coming out of his stupor with a large grin. "Can we do that again?"

"Later, but only if you're good." She ruffled his hair, frowning as she saw that he had accumulated a bit of dust from the ride since she'd not gotten a full face guard for him. "Go wash up, you look like a mess."

He rubbed his cheek, frowning as he realized that there was a layer of grime on his face. "Oh, okay. Um, where's the fresher?"

"Second door on the left. Go," She gave him a light shove, getting him to hurry into the fresher. Taking off her helmet, she looked around her apartment as she walked in.

Sitting down on the couch on the far end of the room, she felt her fingers beginning to twitch a bit now that she was off of the swoop. The adrenaline of riding her swoop always made her shaky, and it took her a second to calm herself down enough to stop the shakes. Pulling out her pack, she drew out her slugthrower and slowly began oiling it to give it a thorough cleaning. While it wasn't necessary at all, it helped ease her nerves a bit more so that she could focus.

Now that he was here, she didn't know what to do. She'd brought him here so they could hide away for a little bit, but beyond that her mind had blanked on planning something. Her bio-computer had given her several options, but with those came consequences she wasn't ready to deal with.

The first option was to simply keep him here, deny him any access to the Jedi or the outside world; with Nar Shaddaa being the only thing he'd have access to. That one was immediately taken out, as she knew Naruto; keeping him locked away would make him hate her, and eventually he'd find a way to get off and get out into the galaxy.

The second option was to load him up and send him off. He was a smart kid, and he'd find a way to make his way on the world. Whether it was finding his way back to the ship, finding a job, or just finding a way to get back to the Order. He was more resourceful than some, and if left to his own devices, while he might draw bad attention, his luck with the Force watching out for him would likely have him falling through a crime lord's roof and ending up making it big by accidently killing him.

She sighed as she set the barrel away and moved onto the next piece. It was amazing how many of these options ended with Naruto going back and leaving her again. But then, there was one more option.

Glancing upwards, she saw Naruto exiting the fresher with a soft smile as he walked over to sit by her. "What's that?"

"Slugthrower. It's a weapon I picked up." She slowed her cleaning of it, putting the pieces back into its box. "I've had to use whatever I could since…"

"Since you were taken?" Naruto asked softly, frowning as he remembered when he'd heard she'd been taken. "What…can you tell me what happened?"

Aurra looked at Naruto with a sidelong glance, rubbing her hands together slowly. "It's a long story…and one I don't think you'll like."

"I can take it." Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I'm not just some little kid."

"Yes, you are." She rolled her eyes, leaning over to gently poke his forehead. "But I'll still tell you. If there's anyone who deserves to understand me, it's you. Just…keep an open mind, okay?"

"Don't worry Aurra, you can trust me."

She shook her head, a hollow smile on her lips as she looked at him. "I know. Just, let me finish before you talk, okay?"

This was perhaps the option she wanted least, but had the most potential to get the outcome she wanted. She wanted him to wait, to understand her hate of the Jedi, and perhaps most importantly she wanted him to stay. And the only way she could think to do that was to tell the truth, and get him to understand what she'd been through.

"You know I was kidnapped by pirates already, so I'll just skip to that part. What you might not know is that the Dark Woman left me alone when they came. She didn't put up a fight, she didn't stand up for me, she wasn't even there." Aurra's hand snapped up when Naruto opened his mouth, eyes cold as she glared at him. "Don't. Just…let me get through with this. Let me get through saying what I need to say, or else I won't…"

Naruto flinched, slowly lowering his head as he closed his mouth. "...sorry."

"That's better." Leaning back, she stared forwards as she continued speaking. "As I was saying, she left me, and that's why I got caught. While I was with them, I realized something. No one was coming to save me. No one of the Jedi cared, except you, but you were too young at the time to do anything. The Jedi…don't care. And they're powerless to do anything.

"When the pirates sold me as a slave to the Hutts, I realized how weak the Jedi really are. The Hutts hold a whole sector of planets; they have all kinds of power that the Republic never even began to know about. They also have connections with people, dangerous people, who have taught me a lot of things. Things like how to survive in the underbelly of any world, how to keep from getting caught…and how to hunt anyone."

She looked him over, trying to gauge his reaction. Thankfully, he seemed to still be respecting her with his silence as he just took in what she was saying. Rather than help reassure her, it only made her more nervous as she slowly continued. "I've had a lot of teachers, and each of them has been more grueling than the next. They changed me, they forced me to adapt, but they made me better too." She slowly raised her arm, showing very faint markings on them before reaching up to tap her head. "I've got physical enhancements to react faster and hit harder than normal, and a bio-computer that helps me think faster than I normally could. They've been getting me out of a few scraps over the last couple of months, and…I…"

Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. This was becoming much harder than she'd thought. Beyond her training, which did include live hunts to hone her skills, there wasn't all that much to talk about. She'd met a few people, had some fun with some of the things she'd learned, but overall that was all she needed to say about what had happened to her.

Naruto hesitantly reach out, inspecting the marks on her skin. His eyes seemed distant as he stared at them, running his finger across the faint scar. Whoever had done it _had_ done a good job as the scar would be nearly impossible to see beneath her alabaster skin, but since she'd pointed it out he couldn't stop seeing it. Looking up at her, and getting nothing more from her, he decided he was free to ask questions. "Why didn't you come back?"

She gave Naruto a dry stare. "Naruto, the Hutts don't look at people as people; we're toys, tools, and means to some sort of end. When the Hutts get their hands on something, they tend to be really possessive of it, and will _kill_ to get it back. Or, if it's someone they own, they'll kill to get them back."

"So you didn't want to hurt anyone?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Long periods without hearing such a tone had dulled her to it, and she unceremoniously snorted at his question. "What makes you think that? I stayed because they had something to offer. They didn't try to make me conform to the Jedi's high browed standards. I can do what I want, when I want to, and if anyone says otherwise it doesn't matter. Hell, if you know the right people you can just shoot them and be done with it." Feeling Naruto flinch, she realized what she'd said. "Not that I've done that, but I've seen people do it. And when you see people do it so many times, eventually you realize that people die for some of the stupidest stuff."

"But they still _die_ Aurra." Naruto whispered. Letting go of her hands, he dropped his head and clenched his eyes shut.

This wasn't going as she'd hoped. Obviously she'd gone too far into her own life, but then how could she not? How could she lead him into the life she was living without telling him exactly what was out there in the galaxy? Thinking about what she could do, she bit her lip before continuing. "Alright, fine, you're right. They die. But then, sometimes there are people who need to die, because…you remember Xanatos?"

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to forget him." Naruto scowled. Pulling up his shirt, he turned and showed some slowly scaring flesh on his back and pointed to it. "This is from a blaster that shot me in the back from some droids he had sent to kill me and the Wookiees on Alaris Prime."

Aurra's eyes narrowed at that, reaching out to inspect the wound. For a blaster wound, it was remarkably healed, and almost looked like the only mark that would be left would be a slight discoloration of his skin in the future. Whatever bacta or medical attention he'd received, it had been light, but good enough she supposed. Thinking about what he said, Aurra glanced up to him with a curious look. "Wait, you went to Alaris Prime? But, isn't that still under debate in the Kashyyyk system?"

"No, the Wookiees won settling rights." Naruto said, pushing his shirt down. "I was sent with Master Kuro, Qui-gon, and Obi-wan to help the Wookiees, but me and Master Kuro were sent to find the Trade Federation droids that Xanatos had stolen."

"Yeah, great job on that." She muttered, remembering the Trade Federation ship that had landed not long ago. _"Wait a minute…"_

Naruto and the Dark Woman had arrived on Nar Shaddaa before Xanatos had arrived, but they were looking for what he'd brought here; the battle droids. And, while Xanatos was late, the battle droids had been worked on for almost the last week, which meant that they were likely going to be working on finishing them within the next couple of days. That meant that she had a way to keep Naruto around for a bit more, and since her job was to observe Xanatos and kill him, she might have more time than simply trying to talk to him and convince him in a ten minute span.

"Well, Xanatos has gotten in with some very bad people Naruto." Aurra said slowly, not wanting to reveal her intentions just yet. "He's also gotten…recognition, from some of the Hutts. One of them is Wallanooga, the Hutt who bought and owns me. The thing is, Wallanooga wants Xanatos dead."

"He…wants him dead? What did he do?"

"Xanatos is untrustworthy. He's trying to play the legal and illegal sides equally, and it's getting attention from people that Wallanooga doesn't want to notice him. Wallanooga is beginning to believe that Xanatos might actually be trying to double cross him." She said, weaving a careful balance of facts and fiction.

"But…but…" Naruto winced, trying to think of something, anything that would help him. "Why would he do that? What possible reason could…" Stopping in midsentence, he snapped his fingers as he thought of something. "What is Wallanooga doing with the battle droids?"

"Honestly?" Aurra shrugged, having not been informed as to why he'd needed them. "It's probably Dreddon's idea. He's Wallanooga's partner and a gun runner like no one else I know. Granted, all the guns he runs are awful and no self-respecting son of a Hutt would ever consider looking at them, but he does run them."

"So he's running weapons for Dreddon then?" Naruto scratched his head, not seeing the connection he'd expected. "No, that can't be right. Unless Dreddon isn't the one who wants them, but then who's he running them for?"

Aurra grabbed Naruto's shoulders, startling him and getting him to look at her. "It doesn't matter what Dreddon wants or who he's running them for. People don't need a motive to get things moving, they can just _do it._ Reason can come later, and finding out who is behind it all can be focused on when we actually care to get it. Right now, this is about something else entirely."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…" She didn't have any better way of saying what she wanted, so she went with what she'd been told by Wallanooga when she'd been sold to him. "Let me save you from the Jedi who've corrupted you, and show you a new way to benefit the galaxy."

"Aurra, you're scaring me." Naruto didn't like the look on Aurra's face; pleading, yet wild with a singed look in her eyes that almost made him feel she was trying to remain dead to the world around her while a fire bunt ferociously within her.

Surprisingly, this statement seemed to almost encourage her. "_Good_. Fear is a good thing Naruto. It's that little voice in the back of your head saying 'something's wrong' and that you need to be ready. But the Jedi have taught you to cut that out, and to not listen to it. You're afraid, because what I'm saying isn't what you're used to. It's different, unknown, and it's how _I_ felt." She smiled, emotions flooding her face as she let her eyes drop. "If anyone can understand that it's you Naruto."

"Me? But…why me?"

"Because…" She found no words to describe what she meant by that. Shaking her head, she sighed and stood up. "Never mind. I just…I need to sleep. The couch is pretty comfortable, so you can sleep here if you want."

"Wait, you're not answering my question. You didn't answer any of my questions!" Naruto tried to get up but was quickly pushed back down.

"No, I'm not." She said simply. "And you aren't going to follow me into the fresher. It's been a long day, I'm tired, and I just…lay down and give me a second okay?"

Naruto was silent, not sure what else to do besides sit there and nod. When she finally moved away, he rubbed his forehead and sighed. "I'm more confused than ever about what's going on now…ugh, dang it Aurra."

Meanwhile, Aurra was doing much the same thing, though with her own thoughts mingled with so many other things. Pressing her head against the wall, she grit her teeth as she growled at herself. "Stupid Aurra, that was so…so stupid."

She'd gone too far, and she'd cracked the barrier she'd built in herself to keep herself at a distance from the world. There was nothing she couldn't handle, and everything she'd learned and was doing was integrated into her actions, reactions, and very being. And yet, here in this room as she'd spoken to Naruto, she felt them weaken and a part of herself lift itself up again.

There had been too many things wrong with how she'd done that. Had she just let things go, talked normally and not rushed things, she wouldn't have gotten this far down this path. But then, he was here, he was _here_, and she could do something about it. For the first time in a long time her mind hadn't been on hunting, or finding a job so that she could get her mind focused once again. It had been focused on him.

"What is wrong with me?" She muttered, lightly hitting her head against the wall once again. Shaking her head as she switched the fresher on, she resolved to push it down, let it go, and move forwards. She still had her job of hunting Xanatos, and perhaps if she was able to convince Naruto to come along, she'd be able to help him fully see what she meant. Maybe then, she'd be able to keep him from leaving.

In the back of her mind though, behind that cracked barrier, she heard the whispers of doubt. Naruto wasn't meant for this life. He wasn't meant to be a hired killer, he was a Jedi. What good would come of keeping him here? Nothing but trouble.

But if she let him go, there would one day come a time when she'd be forced to face him. She'd have to stare him down, look him in the eyes, and disconnect herself from him as she killed him. If he was a Jedi, then he was her prey. He wasn't her prey though, he was her friend. He'd been the only person she believed would've come after her if he hadn't been so young at the time when it happened. The Dark Woman, the Jedi Council, no one else had her faith. She trusted none of them, believe none of the swill they had tried to force down her throat. Only Naruto.

"Why Naruto…why are you making this so hard on me?" She whispered. Despite having grown quite proud of her bio-computer, even with its help in processing information, she still found herself at a loss.

x-=-x

When she'd finally finished her time in the fresher and exited the room, she was somewhat surprised to find that Naruto had actually followed her instructions. He was lying on the couch, completely still and eyes closed. Walking over to him, she found it hard not to shake her head when she heard him breathing slowly; he'd fallen asleep.

Kneeling next to him, Aurra thought about what to do. Pushing aside all other thoughts, she focused on the things she knew and could do. It was much colder in the evenings now that the autumn season was beginning to kick in, and her hideout had a bit of a draft in the room during some nights. Mulling it over, she walked out of the room to quickly grab a cloak or something to cover him with.

Outside her apartment, looking down the scope he'd brought with him, Torgo watched with a flat look on his face. Nothing betrayed the storm of emotions that swarmed his mind with a desire to crush this child after feasting on his soup. He'd lived to long to be so under practiced at the art, and while it was unnecessary, he needed it to keep calm.

Following her had been difficult once she got on her swoop, and it had been a struggle to determine where she'd gone. As one of her teachers though, his skill with a swoop was a bit higher than average, and was able to keep track of her trail where the other fools had fallen away. Only one person had followed her all the way, and he'd believed that they'd been smart to take up the position Torgo was currently in, and while he'd have been grateful for the easy meal, he wanted to savor the boy's soup with hunger rolling in him. As such, his thanks was a swift death, with his body lost to the Undercity.

Leaning back again, he mulled over his plan. There were so many variables that he still didn't know; when would Aurra leave his side, how would he get over to her hideaway without her knowing that he was the one to break the trust between them, and perhaps most important was how slow he should allow his feeding to go on for.

Anzati fed on the soup of their victims, that is to say, a specific part of their brain juice. On the sides of their face, hidden under normal circumstances, were a pair of tendrils. They used these as their way of feeding off their victims, and with three times the normal reflexes and strength of a normal being, they had gotten quite good at the hunt.

One of the skills they hadn't needed to use very often considering the large expanse of their prey in the galaxy, but _was_ there to utilize, was the ability to get multiple meals out of some sentient beings. To have even one meal from a being was considered painful, and a full meal ultimately meant their death. But, with the proper patience and application of skill, one could eat away at a person and sustain themselves through several meals provided the being's soul was 'thick' enough. For Torgo's purposes though, two would be more than enough.

He didn't just want to kill the boy and eat his soup; he wanted to hurt him. By proxy, he wanted to wound Aurra, make her vulnerable as the little girl he'd seen who'd been molded by Wallanooga's lies and whisperings to become the woman she was becoming. The woman that this boy was now beginning to break apart. He wanted to drive her to a point of darkness that would break her, and allow him to mend her, piece her back together till she was the being she had been only days before; the one he'd fallen in love with.

Thinking about it, he already knew what it was that had originally drawn him to her. Even before he'd asked to take her on as his student she'd seen the glowing embers of a fire that had yet to fully die out. Her defiant, strong willed demeanor was admirable, but it was also more than a show. It was her armor that she wore to the battle that was live, and she wore it in a way that none in millennia had done. He'd seen beings come and go, but that fire caused him to want more of it. Once he'd begun playing with the fire, it was inevitable that he'd singe his hands on it, and she'd proven that by rejecting him.

He grit his teeth slowly grinding them together as he looked once more down the scope. _"Patience. The hunt will be over soon, and all things will be as they were. If they are as I want them to be, then even better still."_

Grinning maliciously, he froze as he heard a small noise from his comlink. Growling softly, he pulled it out and opened audio only. "Hello?"

"_Torgo, it's Aurra."_ Oh? So she was reporting in then? _"I'm not coming back tonight. I've got a lead on something, and I'm going to follow it. If I'm right, Xanatos might be more of a traitor than even he knows."_

Torgo blinked that that statement, as it was rather surprising. "Oh? I didn't think our little friend was such a big deal."

"_He wasn't, but then he_ was_ once a Jedi."_

"Really?" That was information she'd not informed him of. Then again, it was possible that Wallanooga didn't know either, if the man had some skills in the Force. Of course, trying to use a Mind Trick on a Hutt was simply silly, but there were some who were able to convince even the toughest of minds. "What does that have to do with your lead?"

"_He betrayed the Jedi in the past, his mining business is holding on only because of Wallanooga, and if he's like anyone else, he's going to want out again. Which means he'll likely do something to try and cut ties with Wallanooga."_

"A trap perhaps? Or are you thinking…faking his own death?" He asked, momentarily distracted from her betrayal as she spoke in that chilling tone reserved for when she was hunting.

"_That, or getting something he can hold over Wallanooga's head."_ Torgo could almost hear the way she ground her teeth as no clear answer presented itself to either of them. _"I'll get back to you with more information tomorrow. I have an idea that just might work, I just need to get more information."_

Torgo lifted the scope back to his eye, looking down through the window as he watched Aurra kneel next to the boy. "And how will you be doing that?"

"…_I've got a few ideas."_ She dragged a cloak over the boy's form, stroking his hair idly as she continued. _"Most likely it has something to do with the Undercity, so I'm going to go there and see if I can find anything that I can use as evidence against him."_

"Hm, that sounds good." Torgo muttered, gritting his teeth as her body posture relaxed, thinking the conversation over. "Aurra?"

Her form snapped back to that of her more focused, hunting crouch. _"Yes?"_

"…don't kill him." Torgo said after a couple of seconds, making sure he wasn't talking from behind his teeth as he silently glared daggers down the length of the scope. "I've heard rumors, and there's something I'd like to try out."

"…_I see."_ Her form relaxed again. _"I only promise to try. Goodnight."_

She closed and set aside her comlink, sighing as she lightly tousled Naruto's hair. He could see her lips moving, but from the angle she could've said just about anything to him. Shaking in rage, Torgo turned and slammed his fist into one of the walls.

Breathing heavily, he stared at the hole in the wall as he quickly composed himself. "Why am I letting myself get worked up? He's just some punk she found on the streets. A mere speck in the eons of an Anzat."

So why was his presence _eating_ at him?

Grabbing his blaster pistol, he checked its ammo and ensured that everything was in order. As he held it though, he realized that – while blaster bolts were quite difficult to trace, the kind of blaster could occasionally be identified by the blaster mark. He should know after all; he'd taught it to Aurra. Which meant that he couldn't use his own blaster to harm the boy in any way. He'd have to buy something else. Or…

Walking over to the swoop that the poor bounty hunter had brought with him, he rummaged through his items. The man had poor sense in judgment when it came to when was a good time to chase and when a good time to back off was, but he did have good taste in weaponry. Pulling out the autoblaster they'd had, he inspected it slowly before weighing it in his hands. It had an attached stock, which would allow it the autoblaster function. It had no markings, likely because this bounty hunter had been likely trying to get into the business of bounty hunting from out of a gang. There were several swoop gangs that were running around in the Undercity, which further made him smirk as he lifted one of the satchels to unveil the gang's symbol still welded onto the durasteel plating of the swoop.

"Oh yes, this will work perfectly"

* * *

><p>AN: Hopefully the dialogue made sense considering Aurra was trying to force the issue. There are a lot of little things to build up how things will go for the rest of the Nar Shaddaa between these two, and I'm going to have fun when we get towards the end of this arc.<p>

Also, because I have many people still asking, I'll say these 2 things now.

1.) Yes, Naruto _will_ go back to the Elemental Nations.

2.) It's the next arc.

There will be a few chapters as intermission (because as much as Naruto hitting burnout in the Elemental Nations would be fun), the Jedi _probably_ would want to stop Naruto from running around to all these places so fast without a break. So for those of you who are eagerly awaiting it, Elemental Nations is after the Nar Shaddaa Arc.

So, to help build things up and get to that point, I'll keep working on the next chapter of **From Darkness.** Till next time, take care!


	35. Chapter 35

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Shortly after the swoops pulled to a stop, An'ya slowly slid off the back of the scow and slipped away into the shadows. Watching silently, she sighed as they began pulling out random bits of experimental equipment and loading them up. Looking around, she considered her options.<p>

It hadn't taken long for her to determine that this was where she was meant to be, and that Xanatos was here; the sight of the Trade Federation ship helped reinforce that quite a bit. Peaking her head out again, she frowned as she took it in and watched as the swoop riders began carting their cargo up into the ship. From three other docks, she could see more of them arriving, and the same procedure continuing.

The items were quite strange, and made her more anxious as she noted more than a few of the items were most certainly weaponry of some sort. Some were disassembled, while others were clear and present as the blaster on a pirate's hip. Considering the nature of Nar Shaddaa, she couldn't help but feel that some of those weapons were designed to be Jedi Killers; weapons that were designed and meant to kill Jedi.

However, mixed within those weapons, there were several other things. Things that stood out in the middle of the weapons as odd, and out of place due to the fact that many seemed rather mundane. There were a wide variety of times ranging from pieces of a speeder on one end, a series of droid parts, the main antenna to a sensor dish, and several datapad's that were all taken onto the ship.

Moving onto a crate, she began meditating on what she'd seen, trying to piece it all together. None of this made any more sense than the droids first presence on Alaris Prime did. And with Xanatos at the head of it all, she could only see further confusion for her as she meditated. Taking a deep breath, she cleared out everything else in her mind, reaching out to the Force to find balance and–

_On a world far from those that she knew, a shadow slowly walked through the ruins of a Jedi Temple. Another being – a Wookiee surprisingly – slowly raised to meet them; though injured, wielding a bright yellow bladed lightsaber. The shadow took no pause, racing towards them and ran the Wookiee through with a blade of red. Letting his foe fall to the ground, the shadow turned to those that the Wookiee had stood as the vanguard of, as lightning cracked behind-_

_Rain covered the planet, with no signs of it stopping ever. Within the dry compound, a young Jedi moved besides one of the beings there, a species she was unfamiliar with, and they spoke of things to come. As the turned a corner, they looked through the glass at something beyond what she could see. The Jedi was shocked, but despite what was seen their head snapped towards the being as they said something else. Continuing down the path, they turned the corner and opened the door, revealing a sea of-_

_The yellow glow of green and red lightsabers lashing out against each other, arced from moment to moment, the two combatants glaring and shouting as they did all they could to force each other back. They fought on the edge of a pyramid's peak, each strike pushing the other back an inch only to be returned a second later. The red blade spun in the air, trying to catch the other off guard only to find the space vanishing in a flash of-_

_Bright, near-white flowers bloomed and seemed to almost float between the two, shadowing their faces as they held each other close. Both of them looked to the sky, staring up as a fleet of ships orbited around them. They spoke, but no words could be heard as they embraced and held one another close. Turning towards them once more, one of them stepped out of the shadows and she saw Naruto walking towards a shuttle as it landed nearby to take him away._

Her eyes snapped open and she had to physically restrain herself from gasping for air. Clenching her teeth, she tried to understand what she'd just seen as it flashed before her eyes.

This was different. This wasn't like the times when certain decisions changed the outcome. This time these were things that – despite the many decisions needed to get there – while the faces and people in them might change, the events _would_ happen. Holding her head, she closed her eyes and forced herself to memorize these events.

She couldn't understand it for a moment. What had happened? What had shifted to allow her a clear, coherent vision? All others she'd had involved multiple outcomes based on choices she made in a near future. With this though, she knew there was no stopping some variation of them from happening. As she reached out into the Force, she felt the Force around her like reaching into a hollow jar and realized what had happened; the Force on Nar Shaddaa was allowing her to see it. The world had so much emptiness, and yet a remarkable presence in the Force that was just waiting to be filled by someone or something. In this case, as she'd reached out she'd found the future waiting to reveal itself, when all she'd wanted was answers to her questions.

Rubbing her forehead, she tried to push it back down. It was not the time to lose the moment because the Force decided to force her to be mindful of the coming future. As much as she appreciated the warning of things, she also couldn't control them. She needed to be here, act here, and once she was done she could meditate on these things. Wrestling back a semblance of control, she closed her eyes and focused once more.

From what she could see, there wasn't much to the whole operation. There was the ship, the docks where the swoops were able to bring their cargo, and a central are where whoever was in charge could look over the entirety of the operation. Near the central area, there was a ship docked that she'd seen before. In fact, it was one she'd commandeered before. Xanatos' ship.

So that helped narrow things down a bit more. Likely the swoop gangs were actually people employed or tricked by Xanatos, and were bringing him the materials he needed. Nodding to herself, she pulled the light around her to cloak herself once more as she made her way up towards the station.

Slipping through the door, she looked around and almost rolled her eyes at how messy it was. Xanatos may have been running the place, but from how the first few rooms looked, it seemed that he didn't have things under control. Moving deeper into the place however, revealed that the later areas were actually far more organized, looking more like that of a businessman that dealt with traditional, well respected clients rather than the sort of people who normally frequented Nar Shaddaa. It was a very strange transition.

Hearing the sound of something tapping ahead of her, she paused and stared at the door at the far end of the hall. Hesitantly, she glanced around the corner and stared into the room, eyes raised when she saw Xanatos sitting at a desk working on paperwork of some sort, eyes focused intently on what he was doing. In fact, he was so focused, that it was likely that he completely missed her presence.

The thought worried her, as it brought with it thoughts and ideas that she knew lead down a dark path.

"_I could end this now…stop all the pain."_

Jedi were guardians, protectors of the peace, and they were _not_ cold blooded killers. While it was true that Xanatos had done many things, that was no excuse for her to allow herself to sink to his level and retaliate the way a Sith would. Strike him down, leave no trace of him, and make him pay for what he'd done.

"_People died because of him. If I just took one swing, perhaps even just took his blaster, it would all end."_

These were not thoughts benefiting of a Jedi. All life was precious, regardless of who had it. The Jedi taught many things about how one should be careful before taking the life of another, and each and every word echoed in her mind now. Disarming them was always preferred, but upon certain circumstances, the Jedi did understand that it was necessary. But _only_ when _all_ other options had been exhausted, and to exercise extreme caution in doing so.

Thinking about it, she allowed herself a moment to let her mind clear from the ideas that were flowing though her mind. There were still options, ways in which they could catch him. And there was still information that she needed to get to ensure that she and Naruto were able to find what they wanted; information on Walla. There were other ways to get it, other ways to do it, but there was no need to take his life when he was still able to assist them; albeit, very unknowingly.

Smirking silently, she decided to see what she could get from Xanatos that would inform them of concerning Walla, and even his own dealings with Offworld.

Naruto was never really an early riser. When he woke, he was usually still quite groggy, and it took at least a good stretch to get his blood pumping after a light meal before he found himself filled with enough energy to get going through the day. Today was no exception, and as he rose from his position on the couch it took him a second before he understood what he was looking at. Smiling softly, he sleepily waved to Aurra.

"Oi, wake up and smell the grub, it's breakfast time." Aurra said, throwing a spoon at Naruto. Nailing him in the face, she grinned and laughed lightly as Naruto yelped in surprise and fell off his position on the couch. "Come on, I didn't hit you that hard. Is the greatest Jedi ever going to be beaten by a spoon of all things?"

"No, I was just startled." Naruto muttered, grabbing the spoon as he made his way over to her. The food she'd made was fairly simple, thought it also smelt very good. Standing next to her, he glanced up at her as he watched her work. "I didn't know you learned how to cook."

"It's come in handy, and it's a good hobby." She quickly tasted it with a hum. "Seems good. Grab me a couple of plates and – actually, set the table, we need to talk out a game plan."

Naruto blinked at that, then remembered last night. Also remembering some of the confusing things that they'd discussed that night as well, he nodded and began setting things up for their breakfast. He fiddled with the silverware she had slowly, eyes lost in thought as he tried to think of something that they'd talked about that had made any sort of sense. One thing that had stood out to him thought, was one line in particular.

"_Let me save you from the Jedi who've corrupted you."_

Sitting down at the table, he remained silent as she set the food in front of him and took a plate for herself. Eating it slowly, he mulled over the food for a bit while letting his mind run wild. Those words, they'd meant so much to her, and they'd pierced through any defense he might've been able to bring up. What could he say? He knew nothing about the galaxy, and he knew nothing about how the Jedi were viewed by the Outer Rim. The Inner Rim seemed to regard them highly, as Naboo and Alaris Prime had both involved him being welcomed with open arms, and given a bit more leeway to do as he needed. Here the Jedi were hunted, outlaws, and vagabonds to a criminal world with no intentions on changing.

Hearing Aurra say something, he blinked and glanced up slowly. "Huh? What?"

"Never mind, it's nothing." She said, jabbing her food roughly with her fork.

"No, seriously I missed what you said." Naruto said, getting the impression that she was now upset with him. "I was…kinda lost in thought and wasn't paying attention."

Aurra stared at him, rolling her eyes as she pointed to his food. "I said, do you like it or should I get you some Temple goop instead?"

Naruto blinked at her question for a moment before he rolled his eyes at her. "Oh come on Aurra, you know the goop wasn't all that bad."

"I swear, some of that stuff was alive, and you know it." She joked, smiling a bit more as she took another bite of her food.

Eating his food with a bit more gusto, he hummed as he enjoyed its unique texture. While he'd never had the high class meals some people enjoyed, he'd had enough food to know that Aurra's cooking was rather good, and he found himself silently hoping to have another serving at some point in the future.

Aurra watched his expression silently, a short list of plans in her mind as to what she planned on doing for her day. And, perhaps more importantly, what she planned to do with Naruto today. "Alright then, while you eat, I'm going to get down to business." Pulling out a holopad, she began scrolling through some of the nearby Undercity area, showing it to Naruto. "The Undercity is a very dangerous place, but one that's easy enough to navigate once you know where to go. I've got a few paths that'll lead us to the shipyard. From there we should be able to find the one that has the ship Xanatos brought back, though it will take some work to sift through it all seeing how the Hutts keep their documents under wraps, and aren't really going to let us just walk in and ask for it."

"What about finding the individual ledger? Wouldn't there be a place where we can grab that?" Naruto asked, mulling over alternatives as he looked over the map. He could see several areas that were marked in red that he figured were the 'bad areas' that needed to be avoided.

"No good there. Like I said, Hutts only need enough record to show that someone was there. If they were caught dealing with some of the stuff shipped off world to the Inner Rim, then there would be no way to trace it back to whichever Hutt sold it." Aurra tapped the screen a few more times, pulling up the information she wanted as one of the areas was highlighted. "This one is the least guarded, and the least dangerous, but it will still get us closer to where he's at. The only real danger might be a wayward swoop member who might try to follow us for a glory ride or something, but other than that it should be clear sailing all the way in."

Looking over the map, Naruto pointed to it to trace the map's layout in his head. After following it a bit longer, he caught on to what she meant by the last part. "We'll be riding the swoop again?"

Aurra saw his smile and laughed softly at his enthusiasm. "I thought you said droids were evil?"

"Yes, droids are evil. Swoops are cool." Naruto grinned, looking eager enough to bolt out of his chair into the other room to grab the swoop and head off on his own.

"Hey now, settle down, we've still got more to talk about." She turned off the map, keeping her hand there for a moment before slowly dragging it back. "Before we leave, I want to clear some stuff up about last night."

Naruto's eyes widened, but his mouth shut quickly to let her continue. She'd spoken a lot before last night, and while he was still lost, he was still open to hearing what she had to say.

"I want to start by saying…I'm not going to pressure you into leaving the Jedi." Aurra's face twisted into a grimace, not liking what she said, but feeling it was important to say regardless. "Whatever they've done is done, I get it. And I get it if you want to go back after this too. I mean…it was once home. But now it's filled with lies, and darkness that no one will ever convince me doesn't exist within its walls. So I'm going to tell you, right now, if you go back, I won't."

"But…"

Aurra held up her hand, shaking her head as she looked anywhere but at him. "No. My decision is final. I've lived to much of my own life for them to take me back, and even if I did go back they'd just kick me out and then I'd be right back where I started again."

"I could always –"

"Naruto, you're twelve. Even if you had Master Yoda vouching for me, there's more members to the council." She sighed as gave him a sad smile. "I know you want what's best, and right now, what's best is to let me live my life. I'm making it out here in the Outer Rim; I've started making a bit of a name for myself that I can work with and use to my advantage."

"As a bounty hunter?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Yes, as a bounty hunter." Her smile dropped when she saw his face, but then it was more confusion then disappointment, so she figured it was better than she could've hoped. "It's a good paying job, and it allows me to travel, to do what I'm _good_ at, and I've met more people by doing this than I think I could ever meet as a Jedi. Plus, even though I can chose my own missions, eventually people will come to me to ask me to do things for them. To _me._ Like Jango, or Cad Bane. I want people to know me."

"To fear you?"

"It's a powerful feeling, and one that can be almost as powerful as using the name of some Jedi in the Outer Rim." As Naruto balked at that, she rolled her eyes. "Oh don't give me that. You can't possibly tell me that after nine hundred years the name of Master Yoda isn't known by a _very_ wide array of planets. And Master Windu? People know that when he comes, a storm follows."

Naruto didn't know what to say about that. When he imagined the masters, he imagined people thinking of their deeds as peacemakers, and diplomats. Hearing that though made him wonder what he was missing of the Jedi Master's he'd looked up to growing up. No longer could he look to them with the innocent, wide eyed wonder as he asked them questions about the galaxy. Now he was plagued by thoughts of mind-wipe, hidden terrors, and the demons they themselves hid in plain sight.

"Besides, I can pick and choose whichever missions I want, though the people who usually use bounty hunters tend to be on the rich side of the law." She hummed softly, recalling the debates on that subject. "After all, in the Inner Rim, laws are there to keep those who aren't smart enough to realize that they're being held back from doing so. That's not to say there aren't laws out here, but at least out here you can do what you want without having someone constantly breathing down your neck about every little thing you do."

"But laws are made to protect people." Naruto said, trying to think of something to rebuke with.

Aurra waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not a politician Naruto, I'm a bounty hunter. I'll let you and the Jedi figure that one out. In the meantime, I've got some hunting to do." Pushing herself up, she went to the back room to get the rest of her gear. "Grab whatever you need, and I'll meet you at my swoop…and for the love of the Force, _don't_ touch anything."

x-=-x

The swoop roared through the city as Aurra piloted it towards the first shipyard on her map. Unlike before, were they'd gone through the upper areas that were filled with traffic, the lower down they went the less people that were flying around to interrupt them. Their need for traffic control was likely there, but the residences didn't seem to mind, as each simply dodged or died in their attempts to go about their daily lives.

Gunning her swoop's speed, she rocketed forwards on the straight path that lead where they needed to go. While this path was the most risky, as it was likely to draw attention, she also knew that it was also the fastest. As much as she loved riding her swoop, and as much as she could tell Naruto did as well, she also hated the inability to talk to him, to interact and hear from him. She'd dominated much of the conversation the night before, and now that she'd thought about it, she felt it was rather selfish of her. Seven years apart, and she'd not even let him speak. The most she'd gotten from him was that he'd gone to Alaris Prime and gotten shot.

That thought made her almost slow down to think over again. He'd been shot. Someone – droid notwithstanding – had shot him. A protectiveness rose up within her, and she felt herself wishing she'd been there to shoot them in the face repeatedly for even considering that. Then again, she also hadn't gotten anything on how he'd gotten out of the situation either.

Sighing, she turned sharply, barely avoiding the corner of one of the buildings as the shipyard grew closer. It was old, rusted down and looked like no one had been there in a very long time. Rocketing forwards, she looked for a good spot to land in before deciding that none of the pads were where she wanted. Slowing it down right next to the central hub, she powered down the swoop and landed it right next to the door. Pulling off her helmet, she glanced at Naruto who did the same. Thankfully, he'd gotten something to cover his face, which allowed him to be somewhat clean. Judging by his face, it had done nothing for the smell of Nar Shaddaa's Undercity.

"I can't believe someone thought it was a good idea to build a spaceport here." Naruto muttered, rubbing his nose as he poked his head into the office.

"Nar Shaddaa was actually a spaceport before it began building up, and up, and eventually became what it is now." Aurra said softly, glancing around for any lifeforms that might've been around. Judging by how things had looked before, she doubted it, and shrugged when she found she was right. "It just means that corporations with enough money and curiosity can try to build the next big thing."

Naruto nodded slowly, looking around within the building as he tried to figure out what they were looking for. The desks were covered in datapads, but none of them looked recent in the slightest, which meant they wouldn't have anything up to date for them to find. Looking in another room, he flinched at the fine layer of dust that rose up from his footsteps. "No clean up droids?"

"Probably just on sleep mode until the system is started up again." Aurra said softly, already moving towards the back of the building where the command panel was. Pausing at the opening to it, she flipped the switch to restore power before turning her attention back to the panel. Blowing off a bit of the dust before inspecting it, she began slowly typing her commands into the console so as to bring up the database for a few of the other shipyards nearby. "So…you never got to tell me more about what you've been up to as a Jedi."

"Huh?" Naruto scratched the back of his head as he remembered some of the things he'd been through. "Well, not much really. I mean, I've only been off Coruscant three – no wait four, four times so far including this time."

Getting nothing from him, Aurra glanced at him with an annoyed look. "Well, go on then. Let's not make this as difficult as pulling a wampa's teeth."

"Um, well there's not too much to say." Naruto sat nearby, kicking his feet as he tried to ignore the dust on the chair. "I went to Naboo, helped fix their communications, and got my lightsaber casing there, so that was pretty cool. Um, on Alaris Prime I found an old Jedi Temple and helped stop a forest fire, but there were droids who shot me there too, so there's that. Oh! Then on Illum…" Staring at Aurra, Naruto's mind flashed through the memory of what he'd seen on Illum and felt his head drop. "Illum…I got my lightsaber crystal."

Aurra paused in mid keystroke, turning to Naruto with a flat stare. Leaning back against the control panel with crossed arms, she gave him a no-nonsense look as she sighed sharply. "Alright, spit it out."

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me. Whatever is bothering you, spit it out." Her eyes narrowed slowly. "I trusted you last night with more than I've told anyone. The least you can do is return the favor."

"…I saw a hallucination of me killing you."

The blunt statement of that caused her to mentally stumble, and she needed a moment to take that in. "...explain it to me. What happened."

Naruto nodded, trying to retell the story as best he could from memory. When he talked about how she'd helped him find his crystal, she saw how happy he looked at remembering the first time he'd seen her in years. Then, the mood shifted when he talked about his Shadow. Even though it hadn't been real, Aurra could see the very real pain in his eyes at having thought that she'd died, and the realization that it wasn't just some random Dark Jedi who'd killed her; it was him, _his_ dark side that had killed her. While he tried to look pleased that he'd been able to fight him off and win, it had also brought up the last words he'd told him.

"_This won't be the last time Naruto…in fact, it's just the beginning."_

"That sounds ominous." Aurra said softly, still trying to figure out what to feel about Naruto's Shadow killing her. "I bet you'll keep on beating it though. You've always been the sort of person to do what you want and let no one else lead you."

He nodded slowly, a faint smile on his face as he sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. It's just…how do I even know how he became that way? And what if…what if he's another me? I mean, not _another_ me, but…another part of me. The part that's influenced by the dark side."

"Then you kick his ass and make him shut up." Aurra said bluntly. "I mean, when I use the Force I use what I have to. Light, dark, doesn't make a difference when you're fighting against people who are known for being able to crush their prey without remorse."

"Does that mean…you've used the dark side?" Naruto asked, recalling his encounter with the dark energies in the forest fire on Alaris Prime. He remembered feeling something similar on Naboo, but…as he'd looked back between the two; he'd begun to notice that something felt off. Something small, out of place, that he couldn't find the right words to describe.

"I guess so." Aurra shrugged, laughing softly as she thought of an analogy. "I guess you can say I'm Force colorblind by this point. What you say is dark I might say is just grey tones at this point. Like I said already; light, dark, it _doesn't matter_ so long as I'm alive at the end of the day."

Naruto frowned at that, her answer giving him no help at all. Shaking his head he hummed as he scratched his cheek. "Well, that's…really all that has happened. I mean, besides coming here, but then that's still a work in progress." Looking to the window, he sighed softly. "I hope Master Kuro's okay…"

"Master…" Aurra grit her teeth slowly, closing her eyes to try to avoid the emotions that came with remembering her former _master_.

"Yeah, Master Kuro. After…well, after you were taken, she left to go train and find herself." Naruto mulled that over, barely remembering that incident. "She seemed so…lost. I don't think I've ever seen her like –"

"Can we talk about something else?" Aurra asked sharply, her tone getting a small rise out of Naruto.

"Hey, I'm just concerned about her. This is the third time we've been separated, and every time we are something _bad_ happens."

Aurra almost jumped at that statement. "Oh? So she just abandons you? Typical."

"Hey, what's that supposed to –"

"She did that to me all the time. Just left me alone when training was over, and would do Force knows what while I had to pick myself up. And I'm supposed to believe that this time was an 'accident' too? Wake up Naruto, she does her best work alone, and she doesn't want you along."

Naruto flinched at her words, the idea of her not wanting him along never crossing his mind. "No, that's not true. We –"

"Naruto, she abandoned me. She's _abandoning_ you too!" Pushing herself to full height, she threw her arms out as she motioned to the area around her. "Look around you. Do you see her anywhere in sight? No? That's because she doesn't care. She talks like she knows better, 'following the Force' she says, but in the end the only thing you really learn is that she can't be trusted."

"Aurra she –"

She wouldn't stop now. She couldn't stop; not about this. This was personal, ran deeper than a vibroblade could ever cut and she needed to say it now. "The Force doesn't tell you to leave people Naruto, it tells you to make choices, and lets you know how they might turn out. _Might_. And yet _somehow_ she always picks the choice that get you as far from her as possible? How blind and gullible are you to believe that she isn't trying to cut you off like you're some worthless piece of –"

"She was the one who brought us here!"

Aurra's jaw clicked shut as he cut her off. Not willing to let up, Naruto stood to his feet, tall as he could stand as he stomped his foot harshly on the ground. "This isn't a mission Aurra. We didn't come here to find Xanatos, we were _supposed_ to be training. Instead, she chose to follow him, to find him, and to find _you_. You want to know why she's my master? Because after she lost you, I told her I'd find you. She told me what I'd face, and she told me that _we_ would find you. No…she didn't even tell me that we would. She _promised_ me that we'd find you as soon as I was old enough to be her padawan."

"Then why didn't you come two years ago?! Padawan's can be taken at the age of ten, so why wait until you were twelve?" She shot back as suddenly the two of them began throwing heated looks at each other.

"I don't know." Naruto said softly. Gripping his head, he shook it violently as he shouted in frustration. "I don't know! I don't know, I don't get it, and right now I don't _care!_ I just…I just…argh!"

Naruto stomped his foot again, flinching as cold steel brushed against the outside of his leg. Remembering his lightsaber, hidden on his leg where most beings wouldn't think to check him, he felt the cold steel transferring the cool touch of the pontite crystal as it tried to help quell his anger. Looking up at Aurra, he saw her eyes shift as she growled softly and began leaving the room.

"Yeah? Well, I don't know either." She muttered. Pulling on her helmet as she walked out she jumped onto her swoop and began powering it on.

"Aurra? Aurra what are you doing?" Naruto asked, running out after her. He fumbled with his own helmet only to stumble back as she lightly pushed him with the Force.

"No…not right now." She said softly. "I just…let me clear my head. I'll be right back, I just… I can't do this. Not like this."

Gunning her engine, she rocketed away from the landing pad and shot into the nearest alleyway, leaving Naruto to stare after her. Clenching his hands into fists in frustration, he screamed after her. "Damn it Aurra!"

His scream fell on only a single person's ears, as no one else bothered to pay attention to the lost boy. Clad in the outfit denoting him as a member of one of the resident swoop gangs, Torgo smirked as he started up his own swoop and began maneuvering his way over to where Naruto was. It was something of a quick hunt in his eyes but that was fine. Leaving on bad terms, yelling at each other, and having some dark history between them would only make this meal taste all the sweeter to him.

But first, he would take some time to crush any faith he had left in Aurra.

* * *

><p>AN: Well then, that took a turn for the worse. Honestly though, I'm sure Aurra is fine. I mean, she just needed to clear her head, and as such left Naruto alone…on Nar Shaddaa…a planet in which the top level is considered as bad as the bottom level of Coruscant. Um, Aurra? You need to remember that your friends aren't all bounty hunters who can take care of themselves, because Naruto might be S.O.L.<p>

Oh well, that's what'll make this confrontation _fun_.

So, for some quick Q&A.

**rinnegan18**: Since that's not something that's too spoilery and will allow you all to question how it'll go down I'll answer that part; yes, An'ya Kuro will be going back to the Elemental Nation's as well. However what will happen...well, you'll see.

**Raven Marcus**: Um…I'll answer that with **Grocamol**'s, since they're the same question in a sense.

**lufyxrobin-luffyxnami: **Okay, admittedly you didn't ask a question, but I'd like to take your statement about lemons and such and ask you (yes YOU my readers) if you want me to add lemons later (much, much later) into the story. Obviously it won't affect the story if there aren't any, but for some people having them there detracts from the story, and I'd like to know what the general consensus of my viewers is.

**Grocamol**: Regrettably, that would be telling. As such, I will give you only as much as I can without spoiling to much; Naruto will be arriving around the time of the Chunin Exams, and will be there until at least the end of them. How long he stays after though, I'll continue to write on so that you'll all see.

Alright then, now that that's over, I'm going to go eat some soup, and we'll see you all on the next chapter of **From** **Darkness**!

…wait, no, not _that_ kind of soup. You saw nothing!


	36. Chapter 36

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Aurra pushed the swoop and her reflexes to the limit as she shot into the darkness, trying to weave her way through the hidden obstacles in the underbelly of Nar Shaddaa. As such high speeds there was no room for anything else; no thoughts, no feelings, just the movement of her and her swoop.<p>

Cutting across an opening, she gunned upwards slightly to dodge a few swoops that soared by. She had no time for anyone else, she had no time for anything else. She didn't want to think anymore and yet…

Her mind raced back to Naruto, his words, his emotions. She'd realized already that he was young and wouldn't become a heartless Jedi just yet, but as they'd spoken just a moment ago, it occurred to her that she'd hurt him. It wasn't more than a fleeting thought, but it was there, and it resonated through her in the moment where Naruto had begun screaming at her.

She'd never wanted to hurt him. Doing so was like taking a blade to herself, and seeing him in pain – even emotional pain – was hurting her to watch. As she'd left she didn't want to look back, but she knew what Naruto's face would look like; pain, betrayal, worry…all emotions she wasn't supposed to feel.

Her choice in lifestyle was that of the cold and heartless at times. One could not show mercy to their prey, otherwise the prey they showed mercy to would rear up and break them. Anger would loosen her focus, make her wild and reckless, and it could get her killed. It didn't mean those moments weren't allowed, just that she had to tiptoe around them, ensuring that her back was constantly watched.

Those thoughts were what made her defensive about the Dark Woman though, and as that thought came to mind, she scowled. Naruto had talked about her as though she were some amazing person, that she was actually a _good_ person. How was he so blind to miss that she was abandoning him? Her mind raced over what he'd said, trying to piece it together. None of it made sense. Except for one thing.

"…_and to find_ you_."_

Why would the Dark Woman promise to help find her? After all these years, it was possible she could've been dead and left to rot by the pirates the moment they found her. Yet, she'd promised a young child and filled his mind with hopes that could one day be crushed. She'd led him on a wild chase, gone away from the training she was meant to do with him…just to find her. Why?

"Why is this bugging me so much?" She whispered into the wind. There was no answer, but then there never was at these speeds. Slowing her swoop down, she turned it sharply and stared back the way she came with a distant look. "…I can't believe I just did that."

Shaking her head, she turned towards the tower once more. In the middle of an argument, when she'd promised herself she'd listened, the moment she'd gotten upset she'd ran away. While she'd needed to clear her head, the speed had cleared out enough for her to realize that Naruto likely would hate her for leaving him like that. No one else would allow themselves to be subjected to such treatment when they'd patiently sat silently, listening to every story, each idea, and every gripe and dark thought that she'd had to tell.

As she turned though, her eyes rested on a swoop gang that raced in the other direction. Raising her brow at that, she checked her position on the map and carefully made sure she was seeing things right. True to the map, she was in a "safe" area, where none of the swoop gangs had a chance to stake a claim yet. Looking up at the gang flying around now though, it seemed that the information wasn't quite as up to date as she'd thought.

"Oh no, Naruto." Feeling a cold chill run down her spine, she gunned her engines to the limit as she shot back towards the landing station. If she were wrong here, she could've been wrong about that area as well. Which meant Naruto wasn't nearly as safe as she'd thought he'd be.

x-=-x

Naruto didn't know what to do first, and so he spent some time just pacing in front of the building with a shout of frustration. "Aurra you…and I…ugh, why are you making this so difficult?"

Gripping his head again, he felt the cool touch of his lightsaber on his leg again, calming him and keeping him from doing something stupid. With where he currently was though, he doubted there was anything stupid he _could_ do; there was nowhere to go, and no way to get off. Finally deciding to sit down and meditate, he threw himself down with and shook his head as he tried to clear his mind.

"_Deep breaths Naruto, just relax…" _Naruto was still quite unpracticed at meditating normally, and it took him a while to find his inner peace so that he could feel the Force around him. The feeling of the Force here was still something strange to him, but after all he'd been through it was still the Force and it still brought a semblance of comfort to him knowing that it was there to help him.

Smiling softly, he began reaching out with the Force to try and find Aurra on the planet. In the back of his mind, he supposed that he could also do this for Xanatos later, but he wanted to do one thing at a time. Letting the Force guide him, he found his eyes opening much sooner than he thought as he heard the engines of a swoop approaching.

"Well that was fast." Naruto muttered, pushing himself to his feet. He didn't get more than two steps before he stared at the swoop with narrowed eyes. "…that's definitely not Aurra."

The person before him had a masculine build, was wearing heavy leather clothing with a symbol on it that was reflected on the swoop as well. Their helmet obscured any features on his face, but Naruto got the distinct impression that they were looking right at him. Looking between him and the swoop, Naruto flinched as he pieced together that whoever this was they were likely a gang member.

Before he could do or say anything, they raised their arm and pointed an autoblaster at him. Only the years of Jedi training gave him the split second needed to dive over the railing as a hail of autoblaster fire rained down where he'd been standing a second before.

Rolling to his feet, Naruto pushed himself back and peaked around the corner. The gang member didn't bother using the stairs, simply jumping down to ground level to meet him as he walked towards where he'd jumped. Cursing under his breath, Naruto began running around the end of the building, trying to find some way to hide so that he could think. Almost as soon as he found a group of crates, he heard the member running towards him.

Naruto yelped as he leapt over the boxes, hiding behind them as the autoblaster began peppering his cover with blaster fire. Looking out from behind them again, he flinched when he realized how close his opponent had gotten in such a short span. Gritting his teeth, he created two clones and sent them running in two separate directions while he ran towards his initial target along the back of the building.

"…interesting." The man said, pointing his auto blaster at the Naruto who'd chosen to run at him to give them time. "But not good enough."

Rather than blasting the clone, the man stepped into the clone's flying leap and pistol whipped it in the jaw. Naruto could almost feel his own jaw rattling as his clone's broke, causing it to lose shape and disappear. Looking back up to the railing, he leapt upwards and pulled himself onto the upper level. Looking over to his other clone, he winced as he saw that the man had chosen to follow it.

Once again, his clone was in a predicament, darting and trying to weave through the crates that had been left behind so long ago. Yet every time he thought he'd gotten far enough away autoblaster fire would erupt from just next to him. From his aerial position, Naruto could tell that they were trying to heard him towards a specific spot where he'd be cornered.

Biting his lip, he told the clone to jump onto the crates and take the high ground. Maybe that way, it would throw off their plan long enough to give him and his clone more time. The moment the clone leapt, the man whipped from around the corner and shot him the back of his legs, the rapid fire shredding through them with no precision or remorse as the clone yelped and fell apart to keep Naruto from having to feel the pain.

This was insane. He knew that there were people out there who could hunt Jedi, and who were able to do many things that he couldn't, but watching this man was almost terrifying. As he realized this, Naruto inwardly smacked his head. Of course he was losing to him, he'd thought he was just some gang member. This man was likely a _bounty hunter_, and had come to claim the rewards that was still out there for Jedi.

"How cute, you actually believe you can hide from me." The man said, his voice obscured by his mask to give it a more ominous feel that sent chills up Naruto's spine. "What a shame though, I was looking forward to seeing more of your Jedi tricks. I didn't realize I'd gotten a two-for-one deal with this hunt."

Two-for-one? Did he mean Aurra? Naruto flinched, and growled, reaching down to his pants to pull out his lightsaber. If the man already knew he was a Jedi, and he was planning on hunting him and Aurra, Naruto wouldn't allow it. He'd lost her once. He wouldn't allow it again. While it was true she'd run off just now, she'd also said she'd come back.

Waiting till the last second, he leapt over the railing back to where the man was as his lightsaber ignited with a familiar _snap-hiss_ and tore through the air behind him as he dropped them. They seemed surprised by the aggressive action, but Naruto didn't focus on that. Knowing better than to stand alone, he formed two clones besides him to help create the same sort of illusion that he'd created on Illum, rushing forwards with all three of his clones to engage on the bounty hunter.

Whether or not the man was surprised by his aggressive actions, he didn't know. The mask hid him from view, making each reach and action almost ominous in how he moved. With each kick or punch the clones made, he had a hand or knee to block as he wove his way through the lightsabers paths. At no point did he fully retaliate, just dodging and weaving in front of him.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what was going on. Was he…playing with him? Trying to tire him out? He was Naruto Uzumaki, the boy with stamina to keep going forever. He wouldn't lose to this man in a stamina battle so easily.

"So she really left you alone? Typical Aurra, always running off."

The words caught Naruto off guard, and one of his clones fully stumbled, making it a prime target for the spine crushing blow to its back that caused it to dispel. While Naruto and his other clone winced, the man didn't move to engage on them again just yet.

"Did you really think she cared about you? Sitting together, talking…all lies and words mean to placate. I should know, I taught her everything she knows after all."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto's clone asked through grit teeth.

The man threw out his arms and laughed. It was a sickening laugh, like listening to a voice drenched in grease so thick it drowned out any other noise. "Isn't it obvious? Why, how do you think I found you? It was certainly a really short time between when she left and when I showed up now, wasn't it?"

"…so what? You could've followed us here and came in when she left." Naruto said resolutely. His clone however seemed to shift in place, nervously thinking what Naruto was shoving from his mind.

"I could've, but then she's able to lose anyone in a crowd, outrun anyone on a speeder, and…out duel even a Jedi." Seeing the two of them perk up at that, they could almost feel his smirk as he feigned shock. "Oh, did she not tell you? She's got a lightsaber herself now, blade as red as the setting sun, and quite a deadly sight to see. But then, I suppose she doesn't flaunt it all that much. Blaster fire and her slugthrower are more than adequate for killing Jedi."

"So what? She has a lightsaber, big deal." His clone said, trying to sound confident despite the fact that he was beginning to shake in rage.

"It's a big deal because it's a symbol of what she is." The man laughed again, pointing to both Naruto's. "She's a fallen Jedi, a woman cold as ice with death on her fingertips, who's been trained to be a personalized assassin for the Hutts. And they like nothing more than to eliminate one of their biggest competators…the Jedi. Goody two shoes who stick their noses where they don't belong. And with a lightsaber, she can go head to head with them, and she can kill them."

"You're lying!" Naruto shouted, his own form now shaking as he grit his teeth.

"Am I though?"

The clone had enough of the man's words and shouted in rage as he rushed him. The man didn't flinch, weaving through each strike before gripping the clone's neck. Naruto rushed in as well, trying to buy himself and his clone more time as he formed another clone to try and help. In doing so, the man turned to Naruto and threw the clone away.

"Found you brat."

Naruto flinched, dodging the man's sudden charge by diving to the side as he suddenly rushed him. His clone beside him wasn't so lucky, clotheslined and thrown to the ground with a sickening crunch as Naruto's head felt twinges of phantom pain. Turning on his heel again, his eyes widened when his clone suddenly shoved him to the side, barely saving him from being kicked in the chest as the man lashed out at him. Hearing the man's growl, he whipped his arm around and shot the clone repeatedly with the autoblaster, leaving no remorse or room for the clone to dodge or escape.

Scrambling to his feet, Naruto could already tell that he wasn't going to get too far if he turned and ran at the moment. Gathering the Force into his hands, he tried to create a strong Force Push to get some distance between them. As his hand launched it out, the man darted to his right and dodged the blast, bringing his hand to Naruto's throat while slamming him into the closest crate. With his free hand, he gripped Naruto's wrist till he screamed in pain, dropping his lightsaber to the ground besides him.

"Well then, you certainly brought up a few new tricks that I've not seen, but the superior man won." Taking off his helmet, the man stared into his eyes with a smirk of victory. "Funny how you thought you could get away from me. A boy, a Jedi no less, stands no chance against me."

"…what do you want?" Naruto asked through strained breaths, trying to remain focused on the man in front of him.

"I want to hurt you obviously." The man said with a shrug. Parts of his cheeks began slowly pushing up, two tendrils slowly sliding out of their hidden pouches as he continued. "I'm going to enjoy this meal quite a bit…but before I do, why don't I fill you in on what Aurra did not.

"She's not the girl you think she is. I taught her everything she knows, and we never went through anything without a live fire scenario. Her lightsaber? Ripped from the hands of a dead Jedi. Her weapons? Stolen from people who had no further use for it. Hell, even the building she took you to was something she'd earned through the blood money she'd received for killing people." Naruto chocked out a response, and he humored Naruto by letting up just a bit. "What was that? I couldn't hear you over your impending demise."

"You're…wrong." Naruto breathed out, stars in his eyes as he tried to refocus on the world around him. "She's…she's…not like that. Aurra's…"

He pushed in on Naruto's throat again, cutting him off as he shook his head. "Boy, you don't know the first thing about her. I know her. I've lived with her for the last seven years. She killed with me watching, and I've approved of it. We've destroyed more than a child like you could ever understand. And at the end of the day when the dreams of Jedi haunted her memory, she sought out my attention to comfort her." Naruto's eyes snapped to him, and the man laughed darkly. "Oh, you didn't know? Well then, I suppose you'll just continue to learn new things then won't you? Too bad though; it's all too much, too late."

Grabbing Naruto's head with his free hand, he leaned forwards and moved his tendrils towards Naruto's face. Naruto's eyes widened, grasping desperately for something, anything that could help. Feeling something digging into his hip, he grabbed it and pulled it out. Rearing back, he slammed it into the man's shoulder, getting a startled shout from him as he pulled back and dropped him.

"You little – you're dead!" The man shouted, pulling the rancor's tooth from his shoulder as he backhanded Naruto.

The backhand was far stronger than that of any normal being Naruto had come across sans the Wookiees, and as such he found himself seeing stars as he tried in vain to get up from the blow. Before he could though, he was grabbed and slammed into the wall once more. This time though, the tendrils were pressed against his nose and he twitched when he felt them squirming up into his head.

As he felt the push through something in the back of his head, Naruto's mind flashed through a variety of options. There was nothing he could think of in his Jedi training that would help him here, nothing that could stop this being, this…monster. Nothing…except maybe…

Naruto didn't know how his Shadow had done it back on Illum, but he remembered the feeling his clones had upon being struck by the lightning the Shadow had shocked them with. He recalled the emotions, the tension, and the power of it. He had no idea what else he could do, and even if it failed he could at least say he tried.

Finding the emotions he needed wasn't that hard. In this situation, fear, pain, and anger were almost as close to the forefront of his mind as breathing. From there, he had nothing more to do then to call on the Force and pray that he'd do it right. With a small gasp as the tendrils began to 'drink', he screamed and forced every bit of the Force from his body.

The result was not what he expected. There was no lightning that came from his hands in the controlled, stable manner that had happened before. Instead, his entire body arched with lightning, pushed out from his toes to his head, going down the tendrils into the man before him as well. He could feel the startled confusion of the man and pushed on, taking the pain of what he was doing and threw that in the fuel for what he was doing.

Slowly losing consciousness, he grit his teeth before bellowing one last time as he shoved all of his emotions into the lighting and let it burst from his body. In that moment, he was enveloped in the dark side, and he became the uncontrollable power of lightning itself.

x-=-x

The lightshow didn't go unseen. Many beings saw the flashes of light down in the Undercity, where darkness reigned and no one dared to go down, and all quickly turned their heads away. Such a sight meant that there was something going on that they need not concern themselves with. It would only bring danger, and pain to those who thought they could do anything down there.

One individual though, was not like that. Then again, Aurra had been going in that direction as it was, and seeing the flash of light only made her wish her swoop were capable of moving faster so that she could get to Naruto and find out what happened. She was no fool; the light had come from the platform where she'd left him, and as she approached she felt a dark feeling in the pit of her stomach.

What had she done? She'd left him here, alone with no help, and now…something had happened. She didn't know what, but something had most definitely happened. It took all the years of practice to slow the swoop and make sure that it was left parked instead of flipping herself off to run over to him. Off to the side, she saw a gang member's swoop and grit her teeth, pulling out a blaster pistol as she moved towards the building.

"Naruto?" She said softly, trying to see where he was at. Her blaster whipped from side to side, eyes darting through each room as she tried to figure out what had happened.

Hearing movement behind her, she whipped around and blasted at whatever it was. It took a second to realize she'd almost shot a cleaning droid, who was now going back into the room it had been in to avoid being shot at again.

"…stupid droid." She muttered, remembering telling Naruto that they'd power on once she restarted the power. Turning back to the main room, she looked around for him, only to see nothing. No signs of struggle or anything to indicated that he'd been here. "Where did you go Naruto?"

Turning to leave the building, she heard a sound from the window. Glancing back to it, she slowly moved towards it and sidled up beside it. Glancing out the window, she tried to see what was out there making the noise. Upon hearing it again, she glanced down and grit her teeth when she saw the gang member strewn out against one of the crates.

Rushing out the door, she vaulted down to ground level and stormed over to where the man was sitting. Her trigger finger itched to put a blaster bolt between his eyes, and she could feel the Force around her like a dark maelstrom that she had long since chosen to ignore. Stepping up to him, she froze when she realized that, while alive, the man was also arching with electricity. Kneeling in front of him, she balked and fell back upon seeing the face of Torgo, staring blankly as he twitched slightly.

"What the hell…Torgo what…"

The sound of something gasping from the wall behind her caught her attention. Her head turned to the sound, all but shoving herself toward it as she saw Naruto twitching and shaking on the ground. His body was arching with the same electric energy that Torgo was, but his was more intense. His eyes were distant, already having lost focus on the world around him, but held open through the pain of what was happening.

She gripped his head and helped keep him from injuring himself further, watching him twitch and shuddered at the sight as she struggled to simply hold onto him. There were twinges of pain when the energy struck her hands, but she ignored it as she softly whispered to Naruto, trying to help whatever it was that was happening to him calm down.

Still feeling the maelstrom of Force energy, she bit her lip and let it flow through her. To her surprise, the energy she'd sworn was her own only a moment before was not her own; it was Naruto's. Reaching into the area of darkness that had been left behind, she found that there were many emotions left behind that she could sense. Upon touching them with the Force though, they began reacting to her presence.

The lightning that arched around him began to slow down as she let her presence in the Force wash over him. Safe. He was safe. There was nothing to fear now. She would watch over him. It took almost a full three minutes before he stopped twitching and his eyes closed. Watching as he slept in her arms, she leaned down and pressed her head to his.

"…what the hell did you do Naruto?" She whispered softly.

"He…shocked me…"

Aurra's head didn't snap to his voice. It didn't so much as move when he awoke from whatever had happened to him. Anzati were known for being resilient, but then even they had their limits like any being. Glancing to Torgo, she move from her spot as she waited for him to continue.

Torgo watched her, barely able to comprehend anything after the full blast of lighting through his body. "That boy…he's a Jedi. And…for a moment, when I tasted his soup, I swore it was the sweetest soup I'd ever tasted. It's stronger than I thought, since he's so weak in comparison. Such a small boy…how can such a small speck carry such a large burden?"

Aurra slowly rose into a full sitting position, turning to Torgo. "What are you talking about?"

"The boy…he's tainted with power." Torgo's eyes closed, a pained laugh slipping past his lips. "Had I not tasted it myself, I wouldn't have realized…and had I not tasted it I wouldn't have seen it…"

"What are you talking about Torgo?" She hissed, slowly pushing herself to her feet. "What did you see?"

Torgo looked up at her as best he could, no fear in his eyes as he spoke. "The monster he truly hides. The beast…no, the beasts inside him, that no amount of Jedi training would ever save him from. He is weak, frail, and will be crushed beneath them. No one can save him from his burden…and that will be how he dies."

Aurra scowled at him, gripping her hands tightly. "Says who? No one can tell him what will happen to him, and he won't let someone choose how his life ends."

"I didn't chose it…" Torgo muttered, his eyes distant as he struggled to see something. "You…are so pretty. Why do you chose to wear such a retched expression?"

She remained silent, staring at Torgo with a hollow, blank stare. Slowly reaching behind her, she pulled something out and let it hang in her hand next to her. Torgo's eyes slowly fell to it, a hollow smile on his face that twitched from the lightning that persisted within his body.

"So, you've come to finish your hunt then?" He sighed, closing his eyes. "I should've known you were hunting me. It was so easy to follow you…so simple to separate you from the boy…I shouldn't have gotten careless."

"I'd never hunt you Torgo. You aren't worth it to hunt for nothing." She said darkly. "There's no time I'd spend wasted on doing something as trivial as that. No…"

_Snap-hiss._

"I'm here to be your executioner."

Torgo didn't bother reopening his eyes when she said that. He'd seen the lightsaber already, and with his body all but useless now, he silently accepted his fate. There were worse ways to go than to be killed by Aurra he mused. Then again, with what he'd been able to see for a second, he'd silently wished he could stay around just a bit longer to see it happen.

No more thoughts ran through his mind as Aurra swung her lightsaber and took off his head. She watched it fly off but paid it no mind as she stepped back. He was gone. The man who was her teacher, her guide, and yet had been one of the greatest thorns in her side…was gone.

The thought was sobering, and she slowly returned her lightsaber to its position beneath the pouch she wore on the back of her belt. Making sure it was well hidden from view, she turned to Naruto once more.

Seeing his lightsaber, she walked over and picked it up. The casing of it was exactly like he'd said; of Naboo make with the artistic and fanciful designs they were known for. Surprisingly, the lightsaber was also cool to the touch, making her feel calm, and focused. Shaking her head, she placed it back in her pouch as she turned and picked up Naruto.

He felt so small in her arms. Normally he stood tall and he seemed like a giant in comparison to the world around him. But here, after seeing him so weak, and unconscious, she was made aware of how small he was compared to the world around him.

And yet, in that same moment, her eyes fell on the damage that had been done to the area around them. There was nothing that screamed that he'd destroyed everything in front of him, but there was damage that told her he'd unleashed a lot of power upon this poor rooftop. There were marks of singed, damaged crates that surrounded the two of them. Looking back down to Naruto, she realized that she'd missed a few cracks on his face where he was now bleeding, and several parts of his shirt that were burnt through and had left electric burns on his arms and lower chest.

"Naruto…what…just what happened to you?" She whispered, holding him tight as she moved towards her swoop to take him home once more. In the silence of the Undercity, not even the Force seemed to be willing to answer her question.

* * *

><p>AN: ...well then, that happened. It's also part of something I mentioned slightly in the last chapter that will be elaborated on a bit more in the temple before Naruto goes to the Elemental nations. Just to give you all a little something to fuel the curiosity about what just happened…Naruto Manga Chapter 91: Disciple Application! has a part of what I'm going to talk about.<p>

That being said, I'm not telling you which page I'm referring to either, so we'll have to wait and see.

As for why that went so fast, Torgo wasn't going to let Naruto live and was only playing around because it suited him for a moment. In the end, he wasn't going to play with his food for long, and with no one to help protect him, Naruto didn't have the chance to move fast enough. Then again, Torgo didn't expect his 'prey' to have a defense mechanism either.

In the meantime though, next chapter is going to involve an old friend, so I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness**!


	37. Chapter 37

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The faint hum from the ceiling was her only solace as she tried to sleep. The day had been lazy, slow, and it allowed her to rest after her last battle in the arena. The remains of the hanadak were now strewn about as she rolled in her sleep, growling as she tried desperately to sleep.<p>

"_Save the pup."_

Rearing back, she slammed into the wall and roared. Shaking her head, she slammed into the doors once again, trying to get them open. For a second, they began giving under her strength, but soon she needed to pause as she attempted to look over the door.

Even now, she could feel the danger the pup was in, and this unpassable barrier that once kept her caged was now bending. The strength came from somewhere she knew not, but she knew that regardless of where it came from, it was there, and it allowed her to push onwards.

Slamming into the door again, she could feel the wind of the outside brushing against her face. A crack in the barrier? Pushing her hands into the crack, she leaned into it and began pushing inwards. A high picked, grating screech echoed in her room, but she was stronger than that. No sound, no creature, no wall could stop her. She was the queen of the arena; she wouldn't allow even this to stop her.

There was yelling on the other side of the wall. Had someone seen her? No, that was bad. The hunter within her told her to shy away, hide in the back and wait until they passed her by. The warrior in her told her that it didn't matter, so long as she did what she needed to. There was no waiting, there was only acting.

"_Protect the pup."_

That voice, so old and so far away, yet filled the words guided her. Stepping back, she snorted as she rushed forwards and slammed her shoulder into the wall and forced it open a bit more. Repeating the process, she felt it give way, and one of the doors began to loosen around the stones that held them there.

Another voice began shouting. The one who cared for her, squawking and flailing as they always did, was trying to say something. Her words fell on ignorant ears as she struck it once again, pushing through the door into the arena that had become her home.

Bellowing in exertion, she raced forwards, remembering how the pup had gotten out. There was a way out, a way that she normally could not take, but for the sake of the pup, she had to try. Grabbing blindly at the wall, she gripped the handholds of something cold and firm. Pulling herself up, she began to ascend out of the pit, and pulled herself up out into freedom.

The establishment was blurred, shapes of creatures running around as they tried to get away. Some were pointing at her, red bolts flew but she ignored them. They created a heat that was noticeable, but not enough for her to take notice. Breathing deeply, she smelt the tainted air of the outside world and lumbered forwards, breaking through into the unaware streets.

Lifting her head, she let out a desperate shout. The trail, where was the trail that led to the pup? What clues could she find, what scent markers would allow her to follow it? Closing her eyes, she howled to the skies above, asking the ancient one to help her.

"_Here."_

Turning towards the feeling, she saw something moving not far from where she stood. There? But that reeked like the carcasses left to long without eating! Still, if that was where she needed to go in order to find the pup, she would go.

Lumbering over to the quickly lowered box, she leapt onto it and grabbed hold. The box was just a bit smaller than her and it took some time to balance herself. Behind her, she could still hear the squawking of the one who'd helped her, and so she turned to face them. The noise stopped, and she made a small noise that was quickly drowned out in the sound of gears grinding sharply beneath her. The box was moving again, but it was also moving _much_ faster as well.

Gripping it tightly, she held on as she went down into the darkness. Soon, she would find the pup. Once more, she'd make the ancient one proud.

x-=-x

Floating in a void of darkness, all he could consciously feel was pain. Overwhelming, mind numbing pain. Every so often he felt his body twitch, silently reminding him of what he'd just done, and of the danger he'd put himself in.

His mind wandered, lost to the darkness with nothing but those moments to think on. To review, and remember everything he'd done. How he'd called on the dark side, and on how wrong he'd been.

When he'd called on that power, exploding with it in order to defeat his captor, he hadn't realized that he was doing it wrong. Everything felt _right_; exploding with power, pushing all of his dark feelings out in a burst of energy, and going in with the mindset that if he lost everything would end. Compared to Alaris Prime though, he'd been mistaken to even attempt such a thing.

All he'd done was create a shadow of the event. On Alaris Prime, he'd becoming the raging avatar of destruction, the very Force seeming to hear each and every thought he had and turned to his power into a fuel to drive the droids and fire back. Here, he'd become a bolt of lightning that for a brief moment filled him with power, only to then rebound, and strike back at him. He held no thought that he'd made a mistake, or that he'd simply missed something.

No, he'd not done it wrong. Something was just missing that he didn't have the ability to add himself.

As he continued to allow his mind to wander, he began to feel something else. A memory, filled with pain, confusion, and fear. No, it wasn't fear. Aurra had said fear was that little voice that told him something was wrong. This wasn't something wrong; this was something that brought a feeling of terror through him.

Were he unable to move, he'd have been frozen by the feeling, his heart almost stopping as the feeling washed over him. Somewhere in the darkness he could hear a voice; soft like the breeze on Naboo, but quickly building in the raging flames from Alaris Prime.

"…_No…back…to…No! No don't do it! Go to sleep! Go back to sleep!"_

The mantra played over and over in his mind, slowly drawing him from his prone position into the darkness towards something else. Something deeper, hidden in the darkness. As he slowly turned, he found himself walking down a cobblestone path, with time-worn pillars all around him. Walking between them, he saw they lead to some sort of courtyard, where at the far end a row of iron pillars reached towards the sky into the eternal darkness.

Bringing his eyes from the sky back to the pillars, he saw that two of them in the center were actually not pillars in the circular way the others were, but was actually more of a bar. In the middle of the bar, was a piece of paper with words written on it that he couldn't quite make out, but were familiar. Then, sensing movement behind the bars, his eyes shifted to the darkness only to become locked with a piercing feral gaze with a row of razor sharp teeth that cut through the air as a voice echoed in the room.

"Foolish boy."

X-=-x

Naruto woke with a start, grunting in pain as his body tried to pin him down so that he wouldn't strain his muscles. Every part of his body hurt, thought there were several points that ached more than others. Forcing his eyes open, he tried to quickly adjust to the world around him, finding himself in a room he'd never seen before, but that felt familiar.

There were several parts that stood out to him; pieces of weaponry, holoimages that showed various worlds that the person who lived here had been to, and several pieces of machinery strewn about from some devices that he couldn't make sense of. In one of the images though, he saw an image of a familiar face that told him who's room he was in; Aurra. This was Aurra's room.

Shifting to the edge of the bed, he winced as his body tried to tell him to stop. His legs were in pain, but were surprisingly numb to it, which he was grateful for. Setting his legs on the edge of the bed, he pulled his pant leg up to check and see what had happened. Wrapped around each leg was a bacta patch, which likely was why he wasn't feeling the pain so bad. Checking the rest of his body, there wasn't any more bacta patches on him, which meant that whatever bacta had been here it had been used to help his legs.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to push the pain away so he could get up and move. It took a moment, as shortly after he began trying to do this, he found that his mind was filled with feelings of loneliness, sorrow, and a lingering numbness that he couldn't place until he removed his hands from the sheets with a jolt.

Staring at his hand, he flinched as he realized what he'd been unconsciously doing. Without truly meaning to, he'd been using psychometry and the Force had been going back to show him Aurra's feelings and emotions from times that she'd been here. "Whoops."

Ignoring the pain entirely, surprisingly thanks to that moment, he shoved himself to his feet and grit his teeth. Shakily, he moved into the main room, looking around slowly. The place was eerily quiet, a very different, humbling feeling compared to what he felt when he'd had been there earlier.

"Aurra?"

There was no answer, no sound but his own voice in the room as he looked around slowly. The room was exactly the same, and yet…not. Looking around slowly, he paused when he noticed one thing out of place; a holorecorder that had been left on the table. Walking over to it, he activated it and frowned when he saw Aurra pop up.

"_Naruto, if you're getting this, then I didn't come back before you woke up."_ The recording began slowly. Aurra's expression was distant, and he saw her doing her best to look straight ahead to wherever he might be standing. _"It may also mean…that something happened. Either way, just don't worry about it, I'll be fine._

"_I'm sorry I left you alone when you needed me. I didn't thing that, I mean, I didn't know that he…"_ Shaking her head, she pinched the bridge of her brow. _"Wow this is harder than I thought it'd be. Look, what matters is, I'm sorry, and whatever the hell you did messed you both up. Thankfully he was much worse than you, so that's something. In the meantime though no running around trying to play hero, got it?"_

"Um, what?" Naruto asked, getting no reply since the recording pressed on with the remainder of her message.

"_I'm going after Xanatos. My boss wanted me to keep an eye on him, and if it became a worst case scenario, I was told to kill him. He…he hurt you. That's worst case enough for me."_ She stared at him, eyes filled with a wild darkness that she couldn't contain or control. _"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to stop him from leaving the planet, or getting anywhere else that he might try to go to hurt people like you. He's run around for too long, and this will be his final stop._

"_Please, don't follow me Naruto. After what happened to Torgo, you don't need to see any more death. This…you're too young. You're too innocent, and wonderful to have all this happening to you. I'm sorry I tried to keep you here. I still think the Jedi are evil, and that you need to get out but…not here. Not like this. This isn't a life I want you to follow. You're better than me Naruto. Find somewhere safe, somewhere nice and…live. Live like me, free from the things that tie you down, live how you want, and just…be you. You are something the galaxy needs more of, so…promise me…"_ She shook her head, laughing softly. _"No, wait, don't do that. I'm being selfish. I…just promise me that you'll do what makes you happy. I don't care anymore what it is or where you are just…promise me you'll do what makes you happy, okay?"_

There was a silence between the two as her words sank in. Naruto resisted the urge to shout at her, to tell her that she was being stupid and to stop talking like she was going to die. With what she was doing, there was a possibility that it could happen. Xanatos wouldn't be kind to her for trying to stop and kill him, and likely she would find herself on the receiving end of a killing blow. Biting his cheek, he sighed as he stared at the image. "I promise."

"…_hopefully I'll see you later. Take care of yourself."_ Aurra smiled at him; a sad, soft smile that didn't belong on her face. Then, the message ended, and Naruto was left staring at the empty space where she'd been a second before.

Naruto struggled to not sit down and take in what she'd said, knowing that if he did he might not be able to get up again. Rubbing his forehead, he let himself take a moment to take in the promise. He committed it to memory, though he picked up the recording just to be sure he could hear it again later.

Do what made him happy? He knew that being a protector, a Jedi, made him happy, but with all that was going on with them right now he was wary. There was so much going on around him, and so much he didn't know what else he might come to love in the future. And there might even be things that were against the Jedi Code, so should he stick to the code, or follow his heart? He had no idea.

For now though, he had something else to focus on.

"…okay, now how do I follow her?" Naruto muttered, moving to search around the apartment for something to use to follow after her.

There was nothing that was going to stop him from doing just that. She said do what makes him happy, and helping his friends did just that. The only problem was, she likely took the only swoop he'd seen in her garage, which meant that he'd have to find another form of transportation. Looking around the house, he bit his lip as he tried to think of something that might help.

While he found several stockpiles of guns and ammo, different varieties of comlinks and other such equipment, there wasn't anything that gave him what he needed. Growling softly, he closed his eyes and called on the Force. Surely it had an idea as to where he needed to go. As he followed it though, he found that it kept leading him back to the garage. Each time though, he hesitated and looked around again. Finally giving into the urge to follow the Force, he sighed and opened the door.

Glancing into the garage, he frowned when he saw that she'd brought the other swoop with her. Did she not know that he'd follow her? Walking towards it, he winced as he was forcibly reminded that he wasn't in the best of shape to be riding a swoop. Not only that, but he'd never ridden one either.

Hopping onto it anyways, he looked over the controls with a critical eye, quickly figuring out how to start it. It was fairly simple, but knowing that he'd have to hold on tight, he gripped the handles and pushed them forwards slowly.

As soon as he did so, the swoop lurched forwards, getting Naruto to pull back on them. The swoop lurched to a stop, then began slowly moving backwards. Pushing forwards again, Naruto stared at the swoop as he chuckled nervously.

"Well then, um, this might be troublesome."

x-=-x

Aurra piloted her swoop with almost mechanical motions, doing all she could to keep from turning back to go watch over Naruto. He was hurt, but he'd live, and if she went back she'd have to take him along. She didn't _have_ to, but she wouldn't be able to stop him from convincing her to take him along either. And right now, she needed to do this alone.

Remembering what had happened was a surprisingly somber action considering what he'd done. She'd never really cared for Torgo as he'd been to forward and it had disturbed her as his touch began to become something rather creepy. He'd been her mentor though, and the time they'd spent together had taught her a great many things; things that would benefit her in her career choice and later on in life. They were things that she'd never begin to thank him for.

And then, with one swipe of her lightsaber, she'd cut that tie. She'd severed the connection between him and her, and became instead his executioner. There was no way for him to fight back – whatever Naruto had done had made him completely incapable of fighting back – yet she'd struck him down without remorse.

Why? For Naruto? Had his actions towards her friend really warranted such an action?

He'd been planning on drinking his soup; his very life essence. From the way he'd spoken, it sounded like he'd even managed to get some before Naruto lashed back at him. Doing so could be torturous, painful, and if he was patient enough he could torture the victim by doing it again, and again. She'd witnessed several Anzati do just that, and it had been something she'd turned her back on as it had repulsed her. Thinking of him trying to do that to Naruto, her friend, made her blood boil.

It would haunt her. She already knew that it would, and she'd never be able to live it down if the Anzati found out about it. Granted, knowing that Xanatos was a former Jedi meant that if she presented _his_ lightsaber, she could potentially get off the hook for it, but _she_ would know. And she would gladly carry that burden. Because the more she thought about it, the more she realized that if the situation showed itself to her again, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

Turning another corner, she rechecked her map. The coordinates for the shipyard had been child's play to find once she'd gotten the information from the shipyard they'd originally gone to, which concerned her a bit more. It was quite difficult to imagine that she was that good at finding people, or that Xanatos was that bad at hiding his presence. More than likely a Hutt, Wallanooga included, wanted Xanatos out of the business as he was becoming a liability. The best way to help do that would be to have direct coordinates to where he was at, leading any and every bounty hunter that might come that way to where he was at. She was just lucky enough to have been hired first.

Piloting around another corner, she skid to a halt and stared towards the shipyard that was supposed to be where he was at. True to the coordinates, there was a ship with the broken circle mark on its hull; the mark of Offworld, Xanatos' mining company.

Aurra stared down at the facility with a critical eye, trying to figure out how to do this. It was surprisingly harder than she'd thought to figure out how she wanted to do this now that she was here. Part of her wanted to just shoot from a distance and be done with it, but that same part of her also cautioned that if she missed, there was no second shot.

However, if she got up close and personal, her options were more varied, though they were also far more dangerous. He could find her, she could be found by the Evocii wandering around with the parameter, or she could mess up. One wrong move could spoil everything she was currently doing. On the other hand though, she'd be given a front row seat to his reaction when she shot him in the face.

Having learned that risking nothing gained her nothing, she began making her way down closer. The other swoops were going to be a problem as their presence created a kind of impromptu guard that unless she were an Evocii, she would have no ability to get through. Still, there were some other ways she could get by.

Darting down behind a nearby building, she slowly moved over to the edge of the roof and hopped off her swoop. Judging the distance was simple enough, but she knew better than to get cocky. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she gathered the Forced and rushed towards the adjacent ledge. Landing deftly, she rolled into a crouch before running back to the edge to leap once more towards the next building.

Roof hopping was not a simple task, but it allowed for a more silent approach up until she got to the shipyard. With the particular roofs she was aiming for though, she would be able to land near the cargo docks which would give her cover. Her plan was that from there she would be able to hopefully slip in when there was a lull in the work, or when the Evocii left to go do their rounds again.

Running to the next roof, she leapt once more. Halfway across, a strong burst of wind nearly knocked her over, the slipstream from the other buildings catching up at that point. Having not taken that into consideration, she grit her teeth as she grabbed onto the ledge. She was so close to the docks that she could taste the stench in the air, but she would become nothing more than a smear on the ground if she fell now.

Before she could begin to pull herself up, another hand grabbed hers. Her eyes shot upwards, lips curled into a snarl before she saw who it was. Surprisingly, she found no emotions for the person, and the thought scared her.

"Didn't I tell you to look before you leapt?" An'ya Kuro, the Dark Woman, asked as she lifted Aurra from her place on the rooftop.

Aurra stared at the woman, unable to express anything as she stared at her. "I…why, why are you here?"

"I was looking for Xanatos," She admitted, kneeling next to the ledge as she pointed down to the central command station. "But then I found he has quite a bit more going on than we initially thought. I was following him for the last few hours until I got the impression that I needed to come here, and help someone."

"…you had no idea I'd be here?" She asked softly, staring at the woman who'd been the cause of so much change in her lifestyle. If she hadn't taken her to Ord Namurt, then there'd have been nothing to cause her to become the bounty hunter she was today. If she hadn't left the training facility and her alone, the pirates never would have gotten to her.

And yet any anger she had felt hollow now. Her heated words, well planned taunts, crumbled at the sight of her. Naruto's words echoed in her mind; his upset, pained expression as he'd told her that she'd promised to help him save her a reminder as to the purpose behind what she was currently doing.

"Following the will of the Force doesn't mean that I know all of its secrets. It just means it gives me more hints, as I'm more willing to listen." She replied cryptically, her eyes glinting with the edge of wisdom that she hid well in how she carried herself.

To Aurra, she looked like a specter, standing in that spot, yet wasn't really there. Her mind, her true presence was already following those clues towards her next destination; focused on the future, yet still weaving it into the moment. It was a trick that had frustrated Aurra to no end during training, and even now she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise in frustration at how she'd stated that as though she'd never stopped teaching her.

As she looked her over, An'ya seemed to sigh at what she saw. "Besides, it worked out in the end, so we're in no position to complain."

Aurra slowly nodded, silently understanding what she meant. The Force had told her to help, and even though Aurra could see the disappointment in her eyes, she felt that her choices were being put aside and instead she was focusing on what was before her now.

Kneeling next to her former master, she stared down towards the command center. "Fair enough. What have you gotten so far?"

"I know the bank accounts he uses, the false names he's put out to try and break down his competition by paying off people so that they wouldn't be able to stop his progress, the passwords to said bank accounts, that he doesn't like working for Walla the Hutt, and that he has a son named Granta Omega." Getting a startled look from Aurra, An'ya smirked. "What? You don't think I was just playing around waiting for you did you? I'm much better at my specialties than even the Jedi realize sometimes. Besides that, Xanatos had been very chatty today, which means he's likely going to begin moving soon."

Aurra nodded, glancing towards the empty docking area. "What happened to the Trade Federation ship?"

"He sent it to another port. Apparently they're having their identification wiped on all the droids, and the quickest way is some droid dealer on the other northern part of the Undercity." Kuro turned to Aurra, raising a brow curiously. "Know anything about that?"

"I know there are a few dozen droid dealers, so that's not really going to help much." She muttered, eyeing the area silently. "And he didn't specify which one he was sending them to?"

"No. He just entered the coordinates into the ship and let the pilot droid take them away." Kuro frowned, leaning back with a sigh. "It's too suspicious in my opinion. Why come to a landing area to get the tanks and main ship wiped, but leave the droids on board until the last moment? And why come to the spaceport in the first place?"

"He was set up." Aurra said, shrugging as she pulled out her holoprojector with the map popping up, showing their location. "The coordinates for his location were clear as day once I stared up another shipyard computer. They all log together, so his entries and information were there for anyone with a decent skill in reading could find."

An'ya took the map, shifting it over to the other information she'd downloaded. It had a manifest of the droids and ships on board, a listing of other cargo going out, and a few tidbits about the maintenance being done. Looking it over again, she frowned as she found a discrepancy between what she saw and what she'd seen. "Where's the updated inventory?"

"What?"

"He's been loading parts and pieces of something onto the ship since he got here." Pointing to the swoop gangs, she continued. "Most of it's just parts and pieces, but there've been a few who've brought in larger equipment such as a hyperdrive, a communications array, and a few other things here and there. None of that is being logged onto the manifest?"

Aurra hurriedly scrolled through it as well, scowling when she saw that they weren't on there. "No, and this is the updated list."

"So someone is protecting their investment, even while selling Xanatos out." An'ya said with a frown, turning back to the port.

"That mean the ship's departure was likely set up too." Aurra rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Is Xanatos really that thick skulled that he hasn't pieced all of this together already? The warning signs should be all over this oporation, and yet…"

"He acts like he's fine with it." An'ya concluded. There was that faint smile to her lips as she continued. "He knows that someone is coming for him, but he doesn't know Walla has betrayed him. He believes that the Jedi, most likely Qui-gon, will be coming soon to find him. He found the tracer shortly after he landed at his corporation, but kept it onboard so that he _could_ be found. Obviously he would be found faster by the Jedi than a bounty hunter, but the results remain the same."

"Hm," Aurra eyes searched the place slowly, feeling there was more to it than that. "Alright then. So, what is your plan then?"

"Well, I have what I need." She said, closing her eyes and letting her senses extend in the Force. "However…what to do about him, is difficult to say."

"How can you say that?" Aurra felt the old flame of anger rise quickly within her. "He's done so much wrong in the galaxy, how can you sit by and let him continue –"

"There is no law to Nar Shaddaa." Kuro cut her off, eyes opening as she sighed softly. "Obviously turning him in for trial isn't the best option, but we abide by the law of the Republic. Through those laws that we ourselves help keep, we are able to protect the galaxy. To go against these laws, to break them intentionally, would make us no better than those we seek to defend people from."

Aurra remained silent, staring at her former master with a hint of loathing. Then, she turned back to the facility. "Well, you aren't in your safe Republic anymore, so what are you going to do?"

An'ya didn't smile. She felt no joy in what she said, knowing that what she was thinking was a dark thought. However, if she didn't do it now, Xanatos would continue to harm others, and she would remember this moment forever. Feeling nothing from the Force except its guidance in whatever her choice may be, she slowly stood up and made her way back towards the central station.

"We're going to finish what should have ended seven years ago."

* * *

><p>AN: Alrighty then, another little twist of events. Let's see how long this one goes before blowing up. And in the meantime, Naruto learns to ride a swoop. Ten bucks says he crashes (not really but hey I can dream). And two of our "friend's" are coming into play once more. Ah, I'm looking forward to what'll happen soon.<p>

Now for some hopefully non-spoiler Q&A!

Noradin: That my friend is a good question. Technically it could have, and it might have, but it didn't. So the logical answer is; no, it shouldn't have. The better question should be; what was different between Alaris Prime and here?

Also, his teleportation isn't instantaneous yet. He's still learning, and it requires line of sight to make sure he doesn't kill himself by teleporting into a wall. He'll figure that part out later, but obviously he needs more practice.

**Arkiseen: **No, it's not wrong for you to want that. The question though, isn't should she. The real question is; when?

**Juoppo**: You aren't the first person to ask this, and unfortunately, you'll have to wait and see. I will do what I can to keep it realistic, but obviously you are right, and the Shinobi are going to look like they can do just about anything they want compared to a Jedi. Like I said though, hopefully it'll be handled in a way that'll be interesting and give a good explanation to my thoughts.

In the meantime though, I wish you all a good day, and I'll see you all on the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	38. Chapter 38

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Jango Fett sat back as he brought his binoculars to his face again, looking down below at the scene before him. When he'd begun tailing Aurra, he'd never have imagined the things that would happen to her during the time he'd spent following her.<p>

There were few in the galaxy like him. Then again, there were few in the galaxy that were like any Mandalorian besides another Mandalorian. If there was anyone in the galaxy who could get a job done, or get anything done, he and the Mandalorians were the people you called. And yet, as he stood on the rooftop adjacent to the central command station, he found himself silently at a loss as to what he should do about the situation.

Following Aurra had been no problem at all. A few 'nudges' to pursuers 'encouraged' them to stop following her after a while. Yet, despite this, at the same time he allowed a single swoop to follow her so that he could have a reference point without too much worry. If the bounty hunter got to close, it wouldn't take more than a moment for him to stop them in their tracks and be done with it.

Then, things had begun to get weird. The first thing was that the bounty hunter he'd been following was attacked and killed, only for the person doing so to continue shadowing Aurra. While he could have simply taken them out, he was sharp enough to realize that there was more going on than met the eye, and that if he wanted the full story, he needed to wait a moment more.

As the man followed Aurra and the boy the next day, Jango flew behind them all, keeping an eye from a distance. When Aurra suddenly left the shipyard, he'd been quite torn as to who to follow for a moment as the man stayed behind for some reason. It was only when he realized that the boy had been left behind that he realized it wasn't Aurra who he'd been following; he'd been following her for the boy. Recalling all that had happened to him in the pit fight, he moved slightly closer to try to observe through his binoculars.

His first observation was a confirmation to his previous thoughts; the boy was most definitely a Jedi. Lightsaber, strange Force powers, and many other things that couldn't be missed. Jango also had the added advantage of having fought Jedi in the past, so he was able to note parts of the Jedi's fighting style in his movements. The second though was that his opponent was far outmatching him. Despite some rather unique twists that allowed him to keep from getting caught in the first few seconds of their rumble, the sheer speed of the man alone told him that he was no pushover. Even when Naruto stabbed him in the shoulder, the man simply shrugged it off and kept going.

When he'd unveiled his tendrils though, Jango had flinched as he realized the man was an Anzat. While this right here may not have been the end for him, an Anzat's grasp was no small thing to escape from. Jango began moving for his blaster, ready to fire at and disengage the boy from the Anzat.

Then, the boy seemed explode into lightning. Jango had to drop his binoculars and cover his eyes as he flinched, the light of it catching him completely off guard. Dropping his arm slowly, he let his eyes readjust a bit more as he observed what he could through narrowed eyes. He'd heard of a variety of techniques that the Jedi could use, but none that allowed them to use _lighting_, and certainly nothing like what the boy was doing.

As the two of them fell apart, Jango found himself impressed once again. The boy had quite a few more tricks up his sleeve than he'd led himself to believe. Anzat weren't anything to take lightly, even though the majority of them were simply legend. The fact that he survived such an encounter in and of itself was quite a feat to see.

Upon watching further though, he realized why he'd never seen the Jedi use such a technique in the past. While Naruto had incapacitated his opponent, he himself wasn't much better off. He'd paralyzed himself almost as much as he'd paralyzed the Anzat, leaving them both lying on the ground.

As a bounty hunter, if he so wanted, the boy could easily be brought in and traded in as a Jedi for the reward and he'd have no say in the matter. Then again, the boy was also still young, so it may have been something of a last resort that he hadn't perfected yet. Regardless, he hoped to never be on the receiving end of such a technique in the near future.

Watching Aurra's display when she returned was confusing, but also spoke a lot about her own personal code of ethics. He'd tried to not make any assumptions as to what she could and could not do, but upon seeing a lightsaber of her own, his mind had shifted gears and he remembered a little bit of information he'd heard about a Jedi who'd been turned into a bounty hunter/assassin.

Looking at her now, it was humbling to realize that even through all she as a bounty hunter would have seen, there was still a bit of someone with a heart buried beneath her current positon. However, as he saw the Anzat decapitated, he also figured that the part of her that held onto those was perhaps even more vindictive to those who broke those silent rules she'd placed. Not every bounty hunter had such a code. Cad Bane's 'code' was that he did it for any amount of credits, while his own was fairly close to the same with a few differences here and there. Then again, his heritage was essentially that anyways, so it only made sense to him that he'd choose to do so.

Regardless of all that, he'd continued to watch as he returned and left Naruto at her original residence, taking off to who knows where. She'd seemed angry, yet focused. Whatever she was going after, it would be a hunt to the finish from what he saw.

Now, as he stood over what was likely Aurra's final destination, he felt a small sense of confliction. She was now standing with another person that she was regarding with familiarity. From what he'd seen from the two of them rising to meet each other though, both of them used the Force, which mean that it was most likely that the woman she now stood beside was the Jedi who'd fallen earlier.

Watching the two of them interact, his mind slowly pieced together that the woman was likely the boy's master, and that they had all at one point had some form of connection with one another; friends or acquaintances of some sort. That being said, seeing the way the two were planning out what they would do, and the way the Jedi woman took up a teaching position several times, he wondered if the woman had at one point been _her_ master as well. That twist in logic wasn't far out there, but it was one that brought up a few more questions; questions that, after some consideration, could be answered later, providing they survived.

Silently, he sat back. He would watch, observe what they did, and let things happen. He'd been hired to keep Aurra from being ambushed by bounty hunters, and so that would be the job he'd do. Side money and the like wasn't much of an issue at the moment as he'd won quite a bit thanks to her and the boy in the pit fight, and the 'job' was more as a favor to Roz's sister than anything else in the end.

Thanks to his decision, and with the way the Undercity was made, he would soon be the only people besides those present who would witness what was about to happen in this shipyard.

x-=-x

Aurra and An'ya made their way back down to the central station, both using regular stealth and the cover of the crates rather than the Force for the time being as they didn't wish to tire themselves before they approached Xanatos. An assassination attempt might be the best way to go about killing him, but from what An'ya had said, their chances were likely much more slim now, especially since he was prepared for company.

When Aurra had found out that An'ya had been inside his building, right behind him, she'd sharply told her that she could've ended this the moment she walked into the building. Even with all the Jedi code and ethics, the fact that she was now planning on doing exactly what Aurra said she should've done in the beginning rubbed her the wrong way. Why would the Force tell her not to kill a person when she had the most opportune moment, only to tell her a few hours later to do just that? What part of the Force's designs involved such a complicated maneuver? She didn't know, and silently she was grateful that she didn't rely as much on the Force as her former master did.

Moving down to the platform, she eyed the area between the landing dock and the central station warily. The Evocii had returned a bit ago, but there was something off with the current scows. Unlike the other ones, when they arrived and unloaded it, rather than bringing it in where they'd brought the others, they seemed to be simply waiting for something. And to make things worse, the items they'd brought off the scow were six boxes that came up to their chests, which meant whatever was in them was likely big.

Biting her lip, she slowly drew a blaster from its holster. Her lightsaber was good, but then there was nothing like picking off enemies from a distance the way a blaster could. Aiming down the iron sights, she took a deep breath as she silently counted in her head. _"…three, four…seven…seven targets. But none of them are where I want them to be. If I can just get them in a line, I might be fast enough to shoot them –"_

An'ya placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from attempting to shoot them. Getting a dark glance from Aurra, An'ya ignored it in favor of trying to give some wiser advice. "I'm sure you're good, but there are more ways than one to resolve this matter. If you miss, you'll bring them and Xanatos upon us. Beside, we don't need to kill them. We merely need to direct their attention away from us."

Aurra stared at her, trying to make sense of what she meant. Killing the Evocii was certainly not a requirement, but then there wasn't a whole lot else they could do in her mind. Killing them would allow less enemies later, and while there might be issues if she was caught shooting, she could move fast enough to catch them; she was certain of it. She had a few other tools that might work, but many of them were designed with the intention of being lethal. She was a bounty hunter; tools of the hunt were the name of the game for her after all.

As she thought his though, she saw An'ya raise her hand and focus on something. Following where her hand was pointing, she watched as several pieces of a nearby building suddenly began shaking, causing those around them to begin falling out of place. As they fell, they struck against each other and the original building, causing quite a bit of noise for their few seconds of contact. They were also close enough to them for the Evocii to hear and turn towards the sound, several of them motioning to the others to go check it out. With wild leaps and uncoordinated efforts, four of them jumped onto their swoops and rocketed over to where the disturbance had originated.

"…three now." Aurra muttered, understanding what had just happened now that she saw it. Divide and conquer in a sense. With them separated, their journey wouldn't be quite as arduous, and it would allow them a chance to potentially slip by.

Sighing in defeat, she maneuvered her way around the crates, doing her best to keep to the shadows as much as possible. Peaking around another corner, she raised a brow when she realized that the Evocii were now facing the complete opposite direction, each and every one of them looking to find the source of the noise. They seemed rather mindless, like drones that had been given only the most basic of instructions to follow out. Were she not in the middle of trying to do something else, she might've felt pity for them.

Moving over to the stairwell leading up to the central room, she slipped up onto the side of the door and waited for An'ya to join her. In a surprisingly military manner, her former master joined her on the other side of the door, both of them nodding slowly to each other as they opened the door to peak into the room. The hallway and room were both empty of anything alive, with only the scattered equipment and datapads any indication that anyone had been there in a long time.

Slipping into the room, Aurra brought the blaster up into a ready position, blaster darting from side to side as she carefully made her way into the room. An'ya was a little less careful, though her lightsaber was now clasped tightly in her grasp, appearing there as though it had simply slipped from the ether into her hand. Their eyes were sharp, observing every detail as they moved in.

"Something's changed." An'ya said softly, getting a slightly startled glanced from Aurra.

"…define changed." Aurra said through grit teeth, eyeing the room now with even more suspicion.

"I mean that someone's moved something here." Eyeing the desk again, she frowned when she saw that there was a line of dust just a small distance from where the actually desk corner was. "Or perhaps, someone has moved something into here."

Aurra nodded slowly silently understanding what she was saying. Cautiously, she glanced into the first series of rooms as she passed them by, each one of them bare of anything she deemed worth noting, and of anything that An'ya could remark as a significant change. Moving back towards the back room, Aurra paused and knelt low, eyeing the doorway cautiously. This was all too easy. For a man who was prepared for the Jedi to come after him, he was surprisingly open to allowing them to enter.

"A trap?" Aurra asked softly, glancing to An'ya.

"Of course." She smiled, her eyes hardened as she stared into the room. "But then, he didn't seem to be forming anything either."

Both of them looked into the room with a frown, trying to figure out what they needed to do. They could spring the trap, but then it was also the more dangerous of the options. However, they didn't know how else to determine what Xanatos had set up without giving him more time to get away should they be indecisive. Neither of them were willing to allow that, and so they both slowly moved forwards into the final room.

Xanatos sat in his room, looking towards the doorway with a blank face as they entered. He sat as his desk, looking over paperwork with a few long boxes behind him lying on their sides in a mess. It looked like he was exhausted, not getting nearly enough sleep as he tried in vain to finish up all the work that needed to be done while he was here.

As Aurra pointed her blaster towards him, he almost seemed to ignore her as he continued to look through his work. "So, you've come." Pausing halfway through one of the documents before slowly turning to her. "I was expecting Qui-gon."

"Of course you were." An'ya said, walking slowly in front of him. "However, he was busy with other things, and sent me in his place."

"…of course." Xanatos said with a gruff, dark chuckle. His right hand seemed to twitch slowly, his eyes staring up at her with a loathing that had been built up ever stronger over the years. "He would send you in his place. You, who've been the source of so much frustration, and aggravation. I suppose you're here to bring me in? For justice?"

"I'd prefer that to the other options." She said softly, turning to face him fully. His eyes darted to her lightsaber, and so she continued. "If not, I am well prepared for you to resist."

Xanatos glanced over to Aurra, who scowled at the man as his smile seemed to radiate the dark side of the Force. "No, you really aren't."

The wall on the far side of the room suddenly burst open, ripped off by explosive charges neither of them would have seen. From outside the building, they could hear the sound of something approaching, followed almost a second later by blaster fire. An'ya activated her lightsaber, reflecting them back towards their assailants as Aurra shot into the dust. Seeing Xanatos fleeing the scene, she popped a few shots off at him, only to have him reflect them back at her and force her to dodge out of the way.

As the dust cleared, the Evocii stood with a blaster rifle in many of their hands, though their numbers had already dropped down to one, with the other four flying quickly back towards them. Aurra rolled to her feet, shooting the last one in the head before glaring at Kuro. "Well that didn't work."

She said nothing, instead marching forwards like a dark wraith, her cloak billowing slightly from the wind as she made her way after Xanatos. There was a moment of surprise when she realized that he wasn't going towards his ship outright, however as his hand flicked towards the crates, she quickly realized that he'd been quite ready for them, and hadn't been quite as truthful as they'd thought.

From each of the crates rolled a destroyer droid. Six in total, and each of them quickly unfurled and activated their shields as they began peppering the area where they stood with blaster fire. The two quickly took cover, Aurra trying in vain to get a few shots off at Xanatos as he ran, only for him to dodge and weave through the various droids to allow their shields to take the blow in his place.

Sliding besides Kuro, she did a quick blaster pack check to make sure she had more than enough shots before glancing to her former master with a scowl. "Any other bright ideas?"

"A few." She said simply. Crossing her legs, she slowly began to meditate as she tried to get the Force to guide her. "Cover me."

Aurra almost gawked at her blatant disregard for safety, but quickly realized that she had a point as the Evocii riding swoops suddenly roared over their heads. Reflexively snapping towards the sound, she fired off a few shots into their engine, causing it to cough and sputter as it dropped very rapidly towards the ground. Turning back towards the destroyers, she quickly withdrew her head, keeping it from being shot off as the six of them continued their assault on the duo.

Glancing out again, she scowled as she watched Xanatos from a distance. While he had every opportunity to leave, it seemed he'd learned his lesson from all the times he'd failed to kill his master that he needed to observe till the very end, least he have them return to haunt him once more. The critical look on his face, the darkness in his eyes, the way his hands moved as though to direct everything before him, and the way he felt in the Force were very familiar to her, and a part of her wondered if she would one day end up like him. A wanderer, looking for a job that would lead her deeper down a path of darkness that would ultimately end up destroying her entirely. An entity wrapped up in darkness with no hope in the light as every opportunity had been shunned and neglected as time had gone on.

Darting back behind the crate again as the destroyers took note of her presence once more and began firing again, she turned her attention skywards. The three swoops were still trying to circle them, but their pattern was now far more coordinated than it had been earlier. They flew in a tight pattern, with a semblance of skill that looked nothing like their wild actions a moment before.

Remembering what Xanatos had been doing a second before, she scowled. "He's controlling the Evocii."

Kuro said nothing, still meditating on something or another. Taking initiative, Aurra quickly took a few blind shots towards where Xanatos was before sharply spinning back to shoot at the Evocii. Any chance of hitting either of them suddenly seemed slim though, as despite the fact she could hear Xanatos blocking her shots with his lightsaber, the Evocii were still skilled enough to only take glancing blows rather than full hits. If she had enough time, and if she didn't hear the destroyers shuffling forwards, she might've had a chance to take them out on her own.

As the swoops began swinging around, An'ya opened her eyes and turned to the crates. With a powerful Force Push, she launched it back towards the destroyers, throwing several of them off balanced with the others being blocked by the crate.

Aurra glanced back to see what she'd done in confusion. Looking at the destroyers, it took her a second to realize what she'd done, but when she did she couldn't help but grin. Four of the destroyers were on their sides, flailing wildly as they tried to curl up and roll back into position. In the time that it took to do that, their shields began failing. Likely the shields believed that the floor was attacking it, and was increasing its power continually until finally with a static filled sputter, four of their shields failed and left them completely open to them to retaliate as needed while the other two were struggling around the box.

Whipping her blaster back towards the Evocii, she fired off a few more bolts to take them out of the sky. With Xanatos guiding them, they were able to dodge around them, but their retaliation was wild and unfocused because of it. Clearly realizing that their aerial advantage wasn't giving him what he needed, he directed them to land, grabbing their blasters as they tried to shoot down the two of them.

By this point An'ya Kuro's lightsaber had sprung to life once more. The destroyer droids saw her approach and tried to shoot her down, but without their shields she was able to quickly begin tearing through them simply by deflecting their attacks back at them. As she got to the last one, the other two who were still shielded had gotten around and were beginning to fire as well, though she still was able to bring it down to a two verse two battle.

Up by his ship, Xanatos wasn't having much luck killing the two Jedi. His plan hadn't been as elaborate or set up so long in advanced that he could do with it as he pleased, save for the charges he'd had immediately placed around the wall to blow it off should he need an escape. The destroyers weren't as reliable as he'd come to think they were, but then they'd been fighting in a more tight knit area than they were designed to be used in. Of the droids he'd received though, they were also the only ones that had their identification removed before he'd been told to move them to another site.

The Evocii weren't being of much help either. While he himself had plenty of experience in fighting such people, the Evocii required a bit more control in order to keep them in line to fight the Jedi, lest they be simply cut down and cut apart. For all the trouble they were to maintain and control, there was no sense in wasting what could still be a good distraction for him to use.

Still, he felt the old itch in him to go down and kill them himself. To best them at their own game. He found himself somewhat surprised to find that during all this time the number of Jedi he'd honestly killed was zero, and for being a Dark Jedi, a part of him was almost embarrassed by that. Still, he'd had no reason to kill the Jedi as of yet, and each time he seemed to face them reinforcements would arrive to save the day. Truly the will of the Force sought to continually slight him, though his continual usage of back door escapes had kept him alive much longer than he had any right to.

Still, his backup plan did have a few more parts. Pulling out the droid controller, he pressed another button on it to activate the droids that had been in the room they'd just left. They were simple B-1 battle droids, but then the boxes were able to contain a dozen of them, and that should be more than enough to cause a long enough distraction. Turning from his position, he gave the Evocii one last command; keep the Jedi on the platform at all costs.

With Aurra and Kuro, the two's 'duel' with the destroyers was beginning to become tedious; their lightsaber and blaster doing nothing to them. They still had their shield generators, and were maneuvering around with no break in blaster fire as they attempted to keep from being knocked over. With the added blaster fire from the Evocii, the two were once more forced to retreat behind the crates to catch their breath and avoid being caught off guard by a carelessly missed shot.

"Alright, so…we're outnumbered, and outgunned." Aurra said through small breaths, trying to think of some way to change the situation. Were it not for the fact that Xanatos all but wanted them to chase him, she'd simply turn tail and wait till he left so that she could follow him. That, and he'd escaped to many times so far; she wanted a conclusion to this mess that he'd created.

An'ya was of a similar mindset, trying to think of a way to get around them and stop him from taking off. As she was thinking though, she heard the marching of more battle droids approaching. Turning to the door, she frowned as she realized that their numbers had once more shifted against their favor. "I can't imagine that Walla will be happy to know his droids are being broken."

Aurra turned to the droids as well, laughing roughly as she finally pulled out her lightsaber. "He was never really a junk dealer anyways."

The droids opened fire almost immediately, and the two of them were forced on the defensive again. Thankfully the droids were easier to take out with how slowly the shot in comparison, and the fact that they lacked shield generators. Their numbers dropped to half almost thirty seconds after they began fighting, and the rest began falling over shortly after.

Hearing Xanatos' ship starting up, the two cursed as they turned and in unison shoved the crates behind them towards the destroyers. While they'd seen the same trick used before, they didn't have any form of learning processor that would allow them to adapt to the technique, and the two were quickly sprawled out on their sides. Neither of them wanting to let Xanatos get away, they attempted to ignore the droids for a moment as they rushed up to where his ship was. They didn't get even halfway before the Evocii opened fire once again, trying to push them back.

Dodging and weaving through the blaster bolts, they both blocked the shots that came to close as they continued their wild run. _"Not again. Not this time."_ An'ya thought as she called on the Force to help her increase her speed.

Jumping onto one of the crates, she threw her lightsaber in a dangerous arc towards the ship, intent on striking some vital area wherein she could bring the ship down. Xanatos saw the two coming and lurched the ship off to the side, causing the lightsaber to miss. Not deterred, she guided the lightsaber around again, following the ship's path with the Force as the lightsaber aimed for its underbelly.

"Look out!"

The warning came too late, as she had become so focused on striking him down, the warnings from the Force had almost seemed impossible to hear right before the explosion rocked the platform. Her lightsaber feel from the sky, her grip on it with the Force released. It dropped to where the ship had once been, but from the way it was now slowly rolling away, the two of them could feel the supports giving out as it slowly began sliding downwards.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Aurra shouted, losing her footing again as she tried to remain upright. Behind her, the Evocii and droids were far worse for wear as most couldn't hold their footing and plummeted off the side of the now tumbling platform into the abyss below.

"He's trying to kills us." An'ya said dryly, staring up at the ship with a scowl. "And even if he doesn't, he's going to get –"

Her words were cut off as the ship began rumbling forwards moving away from them and towards the buildings behind them. In that same direction though, another roar broke through the air. The sound was primal, uncommon for Nar Shaddaa, and was quickly followed up with the sound of durasteel buckling under an intense weight.

Both of their eyes shot to Xanatos ship, staring in confusion as they tried to make sense of what they were seeing. Finally, after a moment of silence, Aurra finally asked what both of them were thinking. "…is that Naruto riding a rancor?"

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I know I'm a horrible person for leaving you with a cliffhanger like this, but this was also a great place to transition between chapters and give me a small break while give you all something to rage at while I write the next chapter. Heck, waiting to write this chapter and the next has been <em>killing<em> _me_ because of the fact I'm trying not to rush straight into it. I like to develop my characters, no matter how much I also want to see Naruto riding a rancor.

Anyways, we'll get to see _that_ fun little bit in the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	39. Chapter 39

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>The swoop bike seem to fight him every step of the way as he tried to maneuver his way through the Undercity, making it rather difficult for him to get where Aurra had gone. Worse still, as he'd reached out to the Force for help, it had begun leading him in a rather different direction than he'd expected. Everything seemed so very different than he'd wanted, and he struggled to move forwards.<p>

The slight shifts in the handlebars made the swoop turn, and with his still shaking hands made the swoop shift from one side to the next. With traffic so high above him, he was silently happy to know that people weren't going to be coming down here, keeping the area around him clear. Or at the very least, clear enough.

He'd sensed the presence of various bottom dwellers, swoop gang members, people who had come down in hiding, and various other beings. Each and every one of them were filled with dark feelings, fear and hidden aggression wrapped around them, making it hard for him to focus at times as he felt them.

It was quite strange. Just earlier that day, he'd ridden with Aurra through these same streets and felt nothing. Now he could feel each and every one of them, like they were shouting it from the rooftops. He silently thanked them for helping numb his pain, as the plethora of other emotions began drowning it out, however it also began wearing on his mind.

"Ugh, this is so stupid!" Naruto shouted, pausing again as he stared down the alleyway the Force was directing him towards. Despite this, it wasn't the Force that he was angry with. Each time he went through the alley's, he'd been washed over with those dark emotions he'd felt before. "Force, how is this going to help?"

The Force never spoke to him, never told him what he needed, or why he needed to go there. Every now and then, when he felt emotions like that, he found himself fighting its guidance with aggressive stubbornness. However, he would soon give up, recalling his master's words about how one needed to let the Force flow through them. Trusting in it to guide him not always where he wanted to go, but often where he needed to go.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed the swoop through the alleyway, eyes narrowed as it went through the area. As the swoop moved swiftly through the area, he once more felt the area saturated with those emotions; so thick, so heavy that they pressed down on his body with a weight that felt like it would try to drag him down. The feelings were slightly different between each, noting that this time felt there was something different. There was anger, aggression, as though someone had seen something startling that had angered them.

As he shot out of the alley, he heard a hum of several other swoops above him. The hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge immediately, the Force warning him of danger as his body seemed to tighten around the swoop and he shoved the handles forwards with a lurch. Shortly thereafter, there was a loud rallying whoop from the swoops that were following him.

He shot through the streets, eyes widely darting across each building, arms slowly becoming fluid motions as his mind was quickly lost to the Force. In a way, he was silently thankful that he was being chased; he didn't learn that well in a typical learning environment. Pushed to his limits, given a challenge that could ultimately throw him about; that was what made Naruto both have trouble with learning some easy things, and yet allowed him to learn things that few else could when it seemed to be impossible otherwise.

It also helped that he also had psychometry to fall back on for when his own skill wasn't sufficient. Normally it showed him where an object had been, how it had traveled, but on occasion it showed how it had been used as well. This let Naruto do a few tricks that he wouldn't be able to do otherwise, slipping through holes in the buildings that allowed him to keep from getting hit by those following him.

The Force continued to coax him along, making him frown as he tried to understand what it meant. _Help is here._ Help? What help? Who?

Ignoring his thoughts, he pulled the swoop roughly, pointing towards the top of a building, and rocketed upwards. The swoop screamed at him as he did so, not meant to do such a thing in such a quick manner. Were he not able to connect with the swoop, he might've been thrown off. As it was, he simply began burning the engine as it screeched and rocketed upwards.

Those following him shouted in alarm, having not expecting him to do such a thing as he soon began hovering over the rooftop. Staring around, the feeling in the Force seemed heavy, telling him to stay here, and that he was in the right spot. Powering down the swoop, he looked around desperately for something that would help him, whatever the Force had deemed as 'helpful'.

"Okay…now what?" Naruto muttered.

Seconds later, the swoops shot up as well, hovering all around him as the group stared at him. "Oi, what do you think you're doing on our turf Bloodskull?"

"Um…what?" Naruto asked, not understanding what they were talking about.

One of the gang members hopped off his swoop, storming over towards him with a scowl. He wore a jacket of thick leather, that had a patch with a purple blade sewn onto it. "I said, what do you think you're doing here Bloodskull?"

Naruto looked between them all, dumbfounded. "I don't know what you're –"

"Aw just blast him and let's get out of here." One of the other members muttered, looking bored the moment he realized Naruto was just a kid. "He's not worth our time."

"I know what I'm doing!" The first man scowled, his lips curled to show cracked yellow teeth that made Naruto cringe. The cringe became a flinch as the man did just that aiming the blaster at Naruto's head.

Before he pulled the trigger, they all turned towards a loud screeching noise from behind him. Several of them began backing away while the leader who'd had his blaster aimed at him was now slowly aiming it upwards. Firing off a few shots, the man screamed seconds before a large shadow slammed down on him, crushed under a scale covered foot. There was an air splitting roar as the swoops began turning tail to run, only one of them didn't make it in time, as the back of their swoop was gripped tightly and brought around to be slammed into the side of the building. Naruto could see it slammed a few more times, but by the second strike he could no longer see whoever had once been on it.

Stepping back slowly, Naruto winced when he felt the swoop he'd arrived on blocking his path. Slowly staring upwards, he found himself uncertain of whether he should be more happy or shocked by the face he saw. The scarred face, glossy right eye, and the missing tooth all told him who it was. As it lowered its fact to sniff at him, he stepped forwards, hand going immediately to its forehead to rub it tenderly.

"Is it really you?" Naruto muttered, hearing only that purring rumble that he'd never heard by any other creature in the galaxy. It pushed into his hand, and he could feel its delight at having found him again. Grinning back, he stepped forwards and hugged her. "Ow _wow_, it is you!"

The rancor purred softly, letting Naruto hold onto her like the pup he was. He smelt of many new smells from the areas she herself had traversed, but it was most certainly his smell; that of the forest and of a youth that still was so filled with energy and life. She felt pleased, satisfied, and continually protective.

Naruto blinked as he realized he could feel all of these things, the emotions more tangible than they had been in the arena. He'd felt nothing of the people's emotions in the arena, and had felt only the flickering of her emotions at that time. Now they were practically tangible, tightknit with his own emotions as he reached inwards for where they met, watching the rancor perk up as once more it sensed his presence in her mind.

"…oh." Naruto muttered, finally recognizing the Force Bond for what it was. Pressing his forehead against her, he found himself shakily holding onto her as he breathed out sharply. "So that's what that was. And…is that how you found me?"

She sniffed him slowly, before purring once more, as though in agreement. There wasn't any sort of clear way to show understanding between them, but they could both feel each other's meaning and intent. His very touch deepened the bond, allowing him to understand and realize more.

Stepping back slowly, Naruto felt the Force keeping his focus on the rancor; no, the Queen. He would find help. Here, he'd find something to help him. Staring into her eyes, Naruto's lips slowly curled into a grin as he nodded to himself.

"Yeah, this'll work."

The Queen tilted her head in his direction, not understanding his change in demeanor, but feeling that he was satisfied with something. That made her satisfied as well. It was good that he was pleased, it meant he was learning things, and she could sense he had a desire to do something. Leaning down, she watched as he moved towards the edge of the building.

"Okay, now, how am I gonna get there?" Naruto grumbled, eyes darting across the far reaches. He'd arrived quite further along the path that he'd needed to go on, and in the distance he could see the form of a spaceport.

Getting a nudge from behind him, he turned to where the Queen was shuffling, lying down beside him with her shoulder particularly low. Looking from her to her shoulder, it took him a moment to realize what she meant. She wanted him to get on her shoulder, to let her take him where he needed to go. With only a moment of hesitance, Naruto gripped her shoulder and shifted onto her back. There were two notched in her back, barely within his grasp that allowed him a grip, weak though it was.

Taking a deep breath, he glanced between her and the spaceport, 'pointing' towards where it was. While her vision wasn't the greatest, she could see that the shapes that were different from the normal shapes of the buildings around her. It was a stone filled jungle, but since it was a jungle that meant she could make her way through it. Confidently, her body coiled and prepared to launch forwards.

"Okay, so how are we –" Naruto muttered, barely missing the tightening of the Queen beneath him until his hands gripped tightly and he felt the sudden force of her lurching forwards. Running on all fours, she dug into the edge of the rooftop and launched across the chasm. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Naruto's hands dug into the notched on her side, his far weaker strength able to hold onto her. His grip didn't bother her in the slightest, skin made to withstand blaster bolts and the claws of pups even bigger than Naruto. As his eyes finally stared forwards, he realized that it seemed she'd underestimated her leap, and wouldn't be able to make it to the other rooftop. Flinching, he gripped tighter, gathering the Force to help strengthen his body as they slammed into the building.

Rather than strike and then bounce off into the abyss below, her form slammed into the building and claws dug into it to anchor herself against the stone. Snorting at some of the dust that got in her face, she reached out and with a nimbleness and speed that betrayed her size and strength. While she had no idea where she was going under normal circumstances, but she had a good idea as to where she needed to go thanks to the feeling of life from Naruto, desiring to go in that direction.

Once she'd pulled herself and Naruto up onto the rooftop, shaking her head, but no worse for wear. Naruto stared at the area where they now stood, slowly looking back between the chasm from where they had been a moment before to where they were now. His arms shook slightly, tremors from his exploit earlier still weighing on him. Now though, there was a sense of elation, that was soon mirrored in the Queen beneath him.

"That. Was. _Awesome._ Let's do that again!"

x-=-x

The journey between where they'd met to a short ways away from the spaceport was an adventure. The stonework was aged with time, but never once did it give way beneath her weight. She'd sworn when she'd been lost from the forest that she'd never have such a chance again. A jungle, though not of trees or having the same open feeling of the mountains, which allowed her to run freely, heart pounding as she swung upwards. The stone most certainly wasn't that of the mountains she knew, as it gave way so easily to her claws. Yet, it stood firm, holding onto the building around them and gave her purchase to launch herself up until she once more could stand proudly on top of the next rooftop.

Through the bond, Naruto and the Queen both could feel one another. Naruto could feel her freedom, her desire to continue this journey forever if allowed. She could feel his adrenaline, the thrill of their journey making him want to do the same. She felt his desire to move with her, to do as she did, and as his life melded against hers she did not question it.

As one entity, they leapt across to the next building, this time landing on it without a need to slide down the wall as this one was below them. Moving to the edge, their eyes peaked over to look down to the spaceport. It was still a bit further away than a leap away, and as they were still moving swiftly, they paced across the rooftop anxiously.

"Aw man, I thought we were going to be able to make it." Naruto muttered, looking at the distance between them and their objective. "Now we have to go around. This is so –" His words were cut off as the Queen began breathing deeply, and she sent something through their bond. "What is it girl?"

Relooking into their bond, Naruto felt her breath in slowly, the scents seeming to wash over his own nose with a variety of familiar scents. Some of them were fainter than others, but with them being so distinctly different, Naruto found himself closing his eyes as he tried to place them. He hadn't ever really believed that he was any good at recognizing things by scent save for a few things. The scents he smelt now, two of them that while distant, were still there and were ones he knew.

"Aurra and Master Kuro." Naruto said softly. His sense of familiarity created a sense of ease for her, and she snorted softly before growling as her eyes glanced to something down below.

Looking down the chasm, Naruto's eyes widened as the wall of the building in the distance broke away. A shadowy form darted out, but was quickly followed by two more. He observed the duel between the two and the destroyer droid that the first summoned, and as he stared down at the ship the man ran towards, Naruto's lip curled as he realized who it was.

"Xanatos."

They growled, the Queen slamming her clawed hand against the edge of the rooftop. Watching the lazy way he stood there, looking over the fight as though it were some form of sport. She darted across the rooftop, staying by the edge as she tried to find a way towards it. Naruto couldn't see a path, and his own indecisiveness wore on her.

_Wait._

Wait? Wait for what?

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Xanatos getting into his ship to take off. Getting an idea seemed to make her slow to a stop, glancing over her shoulder as she waited to feel what he was thinking. "We need to get across the chasm…we need to stop him."

She nodded, almost as though agreeing with him. Shuffling back, she got to the other side of the rooftop and shifted her legs apart into something akin to a sprinters stance as she waited. Naruto glanced down to her, looking between her and the edge of the rooftop.

"You can't be serious." Feeling no shift in her resolve, and hearing her snort at his question, Naruto held up his hands defensively. "Alright, I get it, you can do it. I trust you."

She snorted again, as though telling him "You'd better trust me." Naruto chuckled softly at that, leaning down to grip her back. Adjusting himself, he grinned as he reached out through the Force.

_Wait._

An explosion echoed the air, getting them to shift in place.

_Wait._

The hum of the engine began to build slowly, sublight drives beginning to warm up as it rose up towards where they were.

_Go._

They roared, the rooftop beneath her feet almost breaking as she launched herself forwards. Building up speed, and feeling the coiling of muscles digging into the stone as they reached the edge. Gripping that edge, they launched themselves into the air, neither of them knowing where the ship was until they'd launched themselves out into the abyss.

The ship rose upwards, seeking to escape the planet by fleeing from the spaceport. Were they able to see his face, the face of Xanatos would be that of shock, and confusion. It wasn't every day that a rancor suddenly fell from the sky.

Most starships were made in different sizes, from single man fighters to larger freighters. Xanatos ship was a smaller freighter, with enough room for a pilot and five passengers. This meant that the ship was midsized, more than large enough for a rancor to drop from the sky and land on it while getting a good grip on it without being thrown off. Her nails dug into the durasteel as her weight dented the ship below them.

Leaning over her shoulder, Naruto frowned as he looked down into the cockpit. "This is a restricted area. You need to land right now." Naruto pointed down to the spaceport. Seeing Xanatos staring at him with a glare, Naruto sighed. "Would you mind?"

She roared as she reared her arm back and slammed into the metal once again. There was a distinct hiss of something breaking beneath her strike, and Naruto raised a brow and pointed down again. Xanatos scowled again, pushing the controls forwards. The engines rumbled and shoved her into the building to pin her between the ship and stone with a loud roar from the Queen.

"Oi!" Naruto's hands slipped from her back, gripping the notch with his one hand while his other drew his lightsaber into his hand. Xanatos' eyes widened as he suddenly realized what he had. Igniting the lightsaber in a reverse grip, Naruto jammed it into the cockpit. "Don't do that!"

Xanatos drew back instinctively, not wanting to be stabbed in the face with the lightsaber. His eyes narrowed when he realized that the saber was shorter than he'd initially thought only to jolt when, instead of trying to cut a hole, Naruto simply pulled out and jammed the lightsaber repeatedly into the glass. Regardless of how little or how much he did, the first blow from the Queen of the Arena was all that was needed to create a gap wherein air could escape should he try to leave the planet. However, with the way Naruto was going, Xanatos only had a second to think before the blade eventually brushed against the controls.

"Why you –" Xanatos eyes burned with rage, sulfuric yellow eyes glaring at him.

"Land. Now!" Naruto growled. Clipping his lightsaber back onto his belt, he reared back his hand and shoved the collective ball of Force energy into the glass again. The glass buckled beneath the blow, and completely blocked out Xanatos view of the world around him.

Without his ability to use the controls to his desire, the ship fell backwards and freed Naruto and the Queen from the wall. Now freed, the Queen growled and pulled herself onto the top of ship. Digging her claws into the steel, she tried to rip the cockpit out of the ship as it spiraled back towards the shipyard. The decent was not easy, or stable, and upon returning to the docks it slammed into the ground with a shuddering shake.

Naruto flinched as he saw the shift of the shipyards standing had dropped, and slid very quickly slamming into the building across from them. It was precarious, held up only by the very frail stone of the building. Thankfully they'd landed at the top segment, which meant it didn't force the standing to drop any further.

Unfortunately, the slamming of the ship had also thrown the Queen from the ship and sent her tumbling. Naruto, who'd been holding on with one hand, had also been sent tumbling. His entire body screamed at him as his entire body tumbled across the way before skidding to his feet. The Queen was not quite so lucky, groaning as she slowly moved back to her feet.

Blaster fire began shooting at him, but before Naruto could react, the Queen dragged herself in front of him. Growling at the blaster fire that did little more than irritate her, she stepped forward and forcibly crushed one of the destroyer droids. Grabbing a crate, she roared as she threw it into the groups of droids and strangely humanoid figures that were trying to shoot at him.

Naruto, getting the idea, grabbing the box with the Force and launched it out towards them as well. He could hear the oh so satisfying sound of droids yelping in surprise seconds before they were crushed. The Queen threw back her head and roared, and Naruto couldn't help but shout to the heavens as well.

Nearby, Xanatos shoved the glass out with the Force, staring at them with blood coming from a cut on his forehead and one arm hanging limp. Maneuvering the ship slowly, he scowled as he tried to pilot the ship. It wasn't responding to his commands, and so he tried to lift his restraints so that he could be freed.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto shouted, rushing forwards.

He was fast. The Queen was larger.

Her steps thundered across the platform on all fours, all but throwing herself at the ship. Tackling it, she grappled it and dug her feet into the ground and began shoving it into the abyss behind it. Xanatos could barely be seen panicking, trying desperately to free himself as he cursed loudly. As the ship was shoved over the edge enough to throw it down, Xanatos form shot out of the cockpit, the Force leap enough to clear the Queen and his falling ship.

Turning on his heels, Xanatos right arm snapped towards the Queen. Before she could move, the Force pushed forced her to stumble and fall behind the ship.

"No!" Naruto's eyes widened, heart clenching tightly. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't let it happen. He wouldn't.

A familiar feeling – not that of before, but that of Alaris Prime – flooded him in almost an instant. His body tensed, pain numbed for a brief second as he ran forwards and snapped his arm to the side. Rancor tooth in one hand, lightsaber in the other.

Xanatos didn't have much of a chance to react when Naruto blurred past. He barely heard the _snap-hiss_ of the lightsaber and screamed out as the orange blade swooped against his leg, dropping him to the ground.

Naruto didn't have time to deal with the man, he had something far more pressing on his mind. Flipping over the edge, he used the Queen's tooth to give him purchase as he dove downwards. He could feel it, the burning of fire in his stomach, the heat of the world around him as he thrust out his hand to draw her back towards him. He could feel her through their bond. He could _feel_ her. The strange feeling of their closeness, the stunning and startling emotions between them had thrown him off and their melding had strengthened it further.

There was a silence in the darkness, his eyes darting to and fro as he tried to see where she was. She was in his grasp. He could feel her. He knew she hadn't fallen all the away, he could feel her confusion and worry. His feeling in the Force likely had shifted upon drawing on this energy, but as much as he wanted to just draw her out with his own strength, he feared he might not be able to do it.

It took a moment, her very weight and gravity having drawn her a far way down. Yet, after a short time and with some struggling, the Queen slowly rose from the depths. He took a moment to stare at her for a moment before he smiled and drew her up faster. While he still felt her confusion, he was able to bring her closer to the wall to grip it tightly. Darting across the rooftop with a surprising nimbleness towards her till he was right next to her. She stared at him, blinking slowly as Naruto reached out and hugged her.

"Oh jeez," Naruto muttered, laughing softly. "I thought I'd lost you."

The Queen blinked, leaning down to nuzzle him gently. The pup was perhaps, much greater than she'd realized. Could a pup, even such a pup as this, be so strong and close to life than she thought? Perhaps, and perhaps there was even more than she knew. And she'd protected the pup. The ancient one would be pleased.

x-=-x

Xanatos howled in pain, holding his leg with his right hand as he knelt in pain. The cybernetic arm was almost the only thing left to him now. His other leg had a sprained ankle, and he'd thought he could hide it only to find that Naruto didn't even seem to care once he'd seen him push the rancor off.

Now, due to his haste, he'd not heeded the warning of the Force to move. His entire body had frozen up when the feeling had exploded over him. The form, that vulpine and dark eyed form that he'd felt on Alaris Prime. It has stood before him, it had stared him in the eyes, and told him his life was forfeit. It slammed into him when the boy moved towards him, and suddenly he realized his mistake.

The boy. That boy was the vessel of that darkness.

Staring up towards the sky, he grit his teeth as two shadows stood over him. Glaring up at them, he reached out and grabbed his lightsaber and roared as he tried to hold them off. Dragging the pain of his foot, the pain in his leg, and the pain in his dislocated arm, he fought like a man possessed. He was already done for, having no way out but through the darkness and void of death. He'd fought so desperately, so fiercely for so long, he would be damned if he didn't go out without the same fight he'd given to his life.

Both of them danced around him, his darkness surrounding him seeming to simply roll off the two women as their red and violet lightsabers danced with his own red, knocking him around between them. Each glancing blow caused him to draw more pain to fuel the dark side within him. It was a fruitless effort, a desperate and wild maneuver, and as he felt the heat brushing against his chest letting him know that he was losing. Badly.

His face began to crack, blood streaming down his face as his eyes tried desperately to fight them. Force Rage was a dangerous technique, and one that he clearly did not have full control over as it tore at him rather than his opponents. Even if he defeated them, there was the possibility that he would be killed simply by his body giving out from using the dark side like this.

So far. He'd come so far. After all this time, all that he'd done, he could feel each blow cutting away at it. Offworld. His hidden operations within Offworld. His dealing with the Hutts, and with Hugo Damask. It had dragged him through the mire, through many worlds. He'd become anything he needed to be, anything that they wanted him to be so long that he got what he needed to progress.

Yet as he stepped forward, blade swinging wildly over the younger woman's head, he felt the heat burn into him. Violet light was cast on his face, coming from the lightsaber piercing his chest from behind. Turning to look back to her, his eyes darkened as he slowly laughed.

"So…this is how it ends…" Xanatos said, looking skywards into the dark, murky canvas that was the sky. There were few stars that pierced the light pollution, yet each seemed like a mockery to his dying state. "In the belly of a planet…that no one cares for, fighting a battle…I couldn't win."

"You brought this on yourself." An'ya Kuro muttered, drawing her saber from his chest as he fell forwards.

The world went dark for him, and he chuckled. With a dull, death thump, his body hit the ground lifeless. The darkness of Xanatos, from the man himself, had been ended.

* * *

><p>AN: Ah…rancor verse starship. I bet on the starship.<p>

Now for some Q&A.

**Pric3y**: YES! HE GOT TO RIDE A RANCOR!

**cj1of4**: That's an excellent question. However, there are a few others that it could be. So I'll just let it linger for that question.

Not a lot to say otherwise, so I'll see you on the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	40. Chapter 40

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>As Xanatos lay at their feet, all seemed silent. He'd always had a way out, some means of slipping away through the briefest hints of luck. Now, his luck had run out, and his presence in the Force had faded into nothingness. It was strange to think that this man, this ghost haunting the Jedi Order, was not defeated.<p>

Yet, despite this, Kuro and Aurra's eyes stared at one another and nothing else. Xanatos death, much like what he said, was meaningless to them. After all this time, these years apart, each could see the darkness veiled in each other's eyes that they held back. Aurra's over the years of now smoldering resentment, while Kuro's was of a woman ready to strike down her former apprentice should she show that she'd fallen.

Neither of them moved, hands on their lightsabers tightly though they were deactivated. Tension was in the air, palpable enough that should anyone try to shoot them the bolt wouldn't get close enough as it burnt out in the air. The Force was slowly gathering storm between them, the air around them seeming to churn with their presence as though they stood in the eye of a storm.

Should there be an engagement at this moment, neither of them were certain who would win. An'ya was most certainly the better swordsman, but Aurra had many tricks up her sleeve that could shift the tide between them. An'ya was more traditional and had a stronger tie to the Force, while Aurra held many weapons that a Jedi would frown upon seeing.

Each of them had their own weaknesses, neither of which was known to the other. However, they both had a similar, painfully obvious weakness.

"Hey guys!"

Both turned and felt the tension lift as a blond haired boy poked his head over the side of the building. Then, with a grunt of exertion, the rancor drew herself and him over the top. They both stepped back, wary of the beast despite the very affectionate way Naruto was leaning over to rub its head.

They glanced to each other, almost in unison rolling their eyes at what they were seeing. Despite their differences, both of them knew Naruto, knew of his recklessness and confusing nature, and watching him now was amusing. Nothing could quite get them to see eye to eye, but with Naruto they held common ground. With Naruto, they could put aside any difference for now.

Hopping down next to them, Naruto grinned as he glanced between them and the rancor. "So, what do you think?"

"…I think I'm going to purchase a leash next time we're in Coruscant." An'ya said, her tone sounding bemused despite her expression trying to remain a frown. "I swear, I leave you for a few hours and you somehow manage to find things you really have no reason finding."

"But the Force led her to me." Naruto said, turning back to the rancor to rub her head as she growled. "Oh come on Queen, be nice. They're my master and friend." Pausing as the rancor turned to them, he gently smacked her between her nose. "No. No eating them. Got it?"

The rancor – Queen as Naruto called her – seemed to take Naruto's words into consideration before lying down nearby. She kept her left side to them, her good eye looking them over warily, but seemed willing to watch for the time being.

Reaching out through the Force, An'ya turned between her and Naruto. "I'll repeat what I said. You find things you have no reason finding, and doing things that no one else would think of."

Naruto shrugged, not denying this in the slightest. As he looked between them, his eyes came to rest on the man between them. His grin slowly faded with a sad look on his face as he realized who it was. "…he's dead?"

"Yes." Aurra said softly, stepping slowly back from them. It was in part because she was allowing Naruto to come closer, but also to have a bit more distance between her and her former master. Even with Naruto there, she wouldn't put it past her to attack regardless. "We finally ended this."

Slowly squatting down next to him, Naruto's eyes were somewhat distant as he looked at the man. He'd managed to elude the Jedi for so many years, but because of the surprise from Naruto and the Queen's appearance he'd been so much disabled that he wasn't able to flee. It took a bit of self-control to keep from reaching out to touch him.

"So…it's over?" Naruto glanced up towards them. "We won?"

"Victory," An'ya said slowly, looking down to Naruto with a hollow look on her face. "Is often one that simply leads to further conflict. This will be no different."

"But we beat him." Naruto said, looking rather confused as his eyes turned between the two. "Xanatos isn't going to come after us anymore."

"No." Aurra said, her smile one of understanding. "No, he won't. We've won this fight."

"…good." Naruto said with a sigh. Then, his body began tilting back as he fell over with a grunt of pain. "Because I can't feel anything right now."

Aurra and Kuro glanced to each other, neither of them ones to laugh at such a situation, but each of them feeling that urge rise within them. Aurra finally shook her head and turned back to him. "I told you not to play hero Naruto. What were you thinking?"

"Um, the Force guided me?" Naruto said with a tired grin.

"It guides you, but is no reason to be…quite so reckless." An'ya said, though she herself knew that when the Force guided her to do so, she would.

The Queen snorted, getting their eyes to glance to them. Naruto rolled his head upwards to glare at her, though there was no heat to it. "Don't you laugh, you were having fun too."

Both of the women glanced to each other in confusion. An'ya reached out through the Force, feeling the bond between Naruto and the Queen with a small bit of shock. As he reached the Queen's side of the bond, the rancor turned to her with a confused look. Was she aware of her searching her with the Force?

Naruto's eyes turned to An'ya as well, somewhat surprising her with _his_ awareness as well. "She's a smart girl." He grinned cheekily. With their eyes on him, they almost missed the Queen's clawed hand reach out to pull him close. Both of them snapped their attention to her, but before either could activate their lightsabers Naruto's laughter cut through the air. "Hey, cut that out!"

The Queen hummed softly, tongue coming out to lick his face so as to groom him. Naruto's laughter continued to fill the air, bringing a sense of peace through the Force towards them. Even the Queen seemed pleased with this, a pleased hum echoing to join with the air around them. It was an odd sight; Naruto laughing loudly as he was hugged by a large rancor on the middle of a tilting platform that still hung precariously over an abyss.

"Fine, fine. I smell I get it." Naruto muttered, rubbing the Queen's forehead.

Aurra slowly stepped closer, sitting next to them at enough of a distance that the Queen didn't react to her presence. "Naruto, you are the most ridiculous boy in the galaxy. You know that?"

"It's one of my better qualities." Naruto said with a beaming grin. It was quickly cut off by the Queen licking him again. "Ack! Alright, I'm clean already!"

Aurra laughed softly at his discomfort, covered in rancor saliva and looking like more of a mess than he had even a moment before. Her laughter was rough, and rugged, but seemed to fit into the other sounds like it belonged there.

Of the group, An'ya was the only one whose eyes continued to look about despite their victory. As such, she was the first to see the figure coming towards them via jetpack. "We've got company."

They glanced towards the oncoming figure, Aurra freezing up when she realized who it was. Naruto on the other hand, simply waved to him. Perhaps it was the indifference of the Queen towards the man's presence that allowed him to be more at ease. Regardless, he was relaxed, nestled within her hands as Jango Fett landed just a bit off to the side of them.

"Jango." Aurra said curtly, eyes darting between him and Naruto. There would be no way that he'd missed all of them with their lightsabers blazing through the air as they'd attacked Xanatos. Even Naruto had activated his, though it had been only for a moment.

"Aurra." Jango said with a curt not. Pulling off his helmet, his eyes seemed to glance towards them all with a bemused expression. "Fancy meeting you again so soon."

Aurra nodded slowly, uncertain as to what he was doing here. Her lightsaber was still in her hands, rolling between her fingers around it. Not one to remain ignorant, she finally spoke up, "What brings you here?"

"A flying friend of mine," Jango said, glancing to the Queen. "She lost her prize fighter, and she asked me to see if I could find her. I'm glad to see she's in good hands."

Naruto blinked, his understanding of what Jango said also transferred to the Queen. She turned slightly, almost embarrassed to have been caught like a child who'd tried to run from home. In turn, Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly as well, feeling that same embarrassment.

Jango raised a brow at the boy, seeming to consider him silently. He'd watched the sight from the moment Naruto had come close enough to be seen. The sound of a rancor landing wasn't exactly the most subtle of things after all, and he'd seen how the rancor had struck down the starship. He'd seen a great many things in his time, but this was something else entirely. This…

"You know," Jango said softly, stepping towards Naruto. The Queen growled softly, but Jango ignored her as Naruto quelled her protectiveness. Standing before Naruto, he chuckled wryly. "It seems I made an error in judgment not getting your name when we first met." He held out his hand slowly, looking Naruto in the eye. "My name is Jango Fett, former Mandalore of the Mandalorians."

Naruto thought about his own answer as he weakly reached out and gripped Jango's hand as tightly as he could. "Naruto Uzumaki, adopted pup of the Queen of the Arena." Naruto grinned, patting the rancor that held him. "That would be her."

Jango did not expect that reply, glancing up to the Queen. "In which case, I'm honored." Glancing between them, he couldn't help but smirk. "Are you sure I couldn't convince you to become a Mandalorian? Your strength and force of will would be greatly appreciated with my people."

"Um, I don't know." Naruto blinked and shrugged. "Maybe when I'm 'not a pup' anymore." The Queen snorted, and Naruto laughed at the unsaid joke. "Hey, I'm just really excited right now. I'll grow up into a find rancor – I mean man, someday."

"I see." Jango laughed boisterously at the boy's proclamation. He hadn't expected that either, and he found that Naruto was more and more perplexing and curious than before. It took a dangerous kind of man to stand beside a rancor with no fear. It took a man like no other to sit in the palm of its hand and call itself its pup. "Then I shall patiently wait till that time. Until then, I do need to bring the rancor…the Queen as you call her, back home."

"Aw," Naruto muttered, the Queen humming sadly as well.

"Naruto, you can't keep her." An'ya said firmly, getting a faint glare from the Queen. "You can stay with her till we return her, but you _will_ return her."

Naruto pouted, crossing his arms, but sighed as he rested against the Queen. "…fine. Can I at least stay with her till we go? Please?"

An'ya rolled her eyes at Naruto, his words still whining and eyes pleading silently. "I suppose that's fair, but if you do so, you must care for her. Am I clear?"

Naruto perked up and saluted her. "Yes master!"

x-=-x

The next day, after Jango had gotten a large enough transport to take the Queen and everyone back up to the surface, they rose from the Undercity back towards to the Red District. Naruto spent every moment he could with her, though his tired and pained form eventually rested against her as he fell asleep.

Despite the fact that he was asleep, the Queen seemed at ease with their presence. Naruto had given her many comforting feelings through their bond, allowing him to fall asleep at ease, feeling her silent confirmation that she would protect them as she would him. A few scuffling Evocii who hadn't gotten the message that the spaceport was no longer safe for them were sent scurrying wildly when she reared back and snarled at them. She kept from bellowing, not wanting to wake Naruto from his slumber.

They all watched curiously, each of them uncertain as to what to think of the Queen. Jango was bemused by her presence and how Naruto had bonded with her. Aurra hadn't realized how deeply the bond had gone and had found that she was anxious about how close she stood over Naruto. An'ya lay back, the Force allowing her to know that the Queen would do nothing to Naruto and as such she was the most at ease.

And yet, as they reached the bar, they all found that her presence would be somewhat missed. She was a protective mother that loomed over the group, watching out for them even when her 'pup' was asleep. It would be something missed between them all, Naruto most of all as he hugged her close. Their bond stood strong between them, although the distance would be something of an annoyance for both of them.

As they entered the lower segment of the establishment, the Toydarian fluttered over to where they were at with her arms held high. "Ey, you've come back! I'm surprised to see you in one –" She paused, glancing from them all to the Queen with wide eyes. "Er, why is she not sedated?"

Naruto smiled weakly, reaching out to pat it gently. "Don't worry, she's behaving." Hearing the Queen growl softly, Naruto blinked before grinning. "She recognizes you!"

"She does?" The Toydarian muttered, eyes wide as she glanced up at the rancor. Then, her head snapped down to Naruto. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"Um…" Naruto chuckled softly, rubbing the Queen's hand around him softly. "I'm just really good with animals."

"…I see." The Toydarian muttered, eyes turning to Jango who shook his head. Shrugging, not caring either way how he'd done it, she beckoned them into the cargo area. "Come, come! There's clearly much to be talked about. Can I get you all something to drink?"

"No thank you." An'ya said curtly.

"Jawa juice please." Aurra said, getting an odd look from An'ya. "What? I like jawa juice."

"Clarat. You know how I like it." Jango said with a grin, feeling a small twinge of his lips at the drink he reserved for when he was victorious in a mission.

"Do you have any fruit juice, or just fruit?" Naruto asked curiously, getting two curious looks from Aurra and An'ya Kuro. "What? I've grown to like fruit. It's sweet, and tangy."

The two women rolled their eyes at him, neither truly giving him much thought as they entered after them. The Queen lumbered in behind them all, still holding Naruto carefully as he rested in her arms.

Despite his words from time to time, Naruto was still feeling that overwhelming tiredness that wracked his body. It hadn't yet occurred to the others to check on him yet, especially since the Queen was keeping him held tightly and protectively in her grasp. In all likelihood he'd damaged a few nerves from what he'd done the other day, and he could feel the strain on his arm from where he had used the Queen's tooth to keep from falling into the chasm. Leaning into her touch, he sighed and let a small grumble of contentment as he watched them all moving upwards.

Seeing them glance down while he remained with the Queen, Naruto chuckled nervously and shrunk slightly into her grasp. "You go on ahead. I'm going to spend a bit more time with the Queen, okay?"

Aurra rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Careful you don't stay to long Naruto, or she won't let you go."

"She knows I'll have to leave soon, we're just enjoying the time before I become…uh, not a pup." Naruto winced, the Queen's feelings like a light scolding in the back of his mind. Turning back to her, he reached out and rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, yeah I know."

The Toydarian raised a brow at their odd actions, but ignored them as she went and grabbed a drink for all of them sans Naruto. He was preoccupied with her prize fighter, and she wasn't going to try to get between them.

Aurra on the other hand, reached across the counter and grabbed a piece of fruit. Not bothering to look behind her, she chucked it back into the pit. A few seconds later, Naruto shouted his thanks and he happily bit into the fruit as she got her own drink.

"So, what brings you back to my establishment little miss?" The Toydarian asked, glancing to An'ya as well. "And who's you're friend?"

"She's…an old mentor of mine." Aurra replied, surprisingly honest. Then again, considering her long history of instructors, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for anyone to believe that. "She helped me with a mission that I was given, and thanks to her we were able to get to the bottom of it all. Jango helped us get the Queen, your rancor, back here when she somehow followed us."

"Yes, strange thing that." The Toydarian muttered. "I've never seen her do such a thing from her before. She's never done such a thing before, yet she ripped through the doors and got out." Looking at doorway with the frame pushing out slightly and the doors missing. "She made…quite the mess when she left."

Aurra glance at the doorway, raising a brow slowly. "Strange. She'd been quite tame with us since she caught up with Naruto. Though, she did make quite the mess in the Undercity."

"The _Undercity?_ What in the blazes were you doing down there girl?" She muttered, scratching her chin in confusion. "That's no place for young people like yourself, or the boy."

"It was where we needed to go." An'ya said, shrugging as though it were the most common thing in the galaxy. Taking a sip of her drink, she sighed softly. "In the end, we were able to overcome our trial and completed our task."

Jango kept his mouth shut, knowing each what of them meant within their thinly veiled words. Despite standing next to people who by all accounts had once been his enemies, he felt no resentment towards them. It had been war, and information had been altered. Not only the Jedi, but the True Mandalorians had been lied to by the Death Watch. It was not his place to judge them for that which they couldn't control.

Still, even among Jedi, these three were an odd sort. Aurra, the Jedi drawn away and turned to the path of a bounty hunter. An'ya Kuro, a woman who seemed to have the wits of a hunter, though moved with that precision that few but the most trained of opponents held. And the boy…

Of them all, Naruto was the one he found himself most interested in. For a Jedi to be as emotional, unbound by the norms he'd seen in many hold themselves to, was somewhat startling. It was almost like a Mandalorian, the way he acted at times. A few differences of course, but the core was there.

Jango stared at the air in front of him, idly wondering what to make of him. He moved with all the inexperience of a child, and yet held little fear in spite of all things around him. There was a constant look in his eyes of wild, uncontrolled energy that was simply waiting to be forged and shaped into a form worthy of a warrior. Lying next to a rancor, in the middle of a den of thieves and gamblers, he seemed almost at peace despite the danger around him.

"So, what would you like for yer pay Jango?"

He looked up at her, thinking over what she was asking before sighing. "To be honest, it was these three who found her. I just brought her back."

"Oh?" The Toydarian said, glancing to them. "Well then, what can I get for ya?"

Aurra and An'ya glanced at each other, neither having a sure idea as to what they really wanted. Looking backwards towards the pit, Aurra had an idea, and after confirming with An'ya she hesitantly turned towards the woman. "Well, we were wondering what you were planning to do with the Queen – er, your prized rancor."

She raised a brow, surprised by the question. "Well, she's had a good fight, and after her display in her last fight I was considering retiring her. Let her have a bit of a life outside the fighting circle, have some pups of her own, if she wants them."

"She's…kind of adopted Naruto." Aurra said with a wry smile. "I'd say that she certainly wants pups, and…my master may have a place. It would take some time, but it would be worth it, as there are not yet many rules about the breeding of foreign creatures yet."

"Oh?" The Toydarian tented her fingers with a grin. "Do tell."

"Have you ever heard of a planet called Alaris Prime?"

x-=-x

They didn't finish their work until late into the evening, working out some of the details on their idea. There was quite a few things that needed to be worked out, the movement of the Queen to Alaris Prime wouldn't be so simple. The Wookiees would surely protest the idea of a rancor begin brought to their planet, but if they were able to play the politics a bit, they might be able to convince them, and do so legally. If not, the Toydarian wasn't averse to doing so illegally, though they wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

When they finally had to remove Naruto from the Queen, he'd been quite sad, and disappointed, but they'd eventually said their goodbyes. When they'd mentioned that they would see her again, Naruto grinned and seemed far happier with the idea, as did the Queen.

An'ya watched them leave with a worried eye. Naruto's bond with the rancor was strong, perhaps too much so for a single meeting. She was also startled to feel a bond with her, an invisible connection between the two in the Force. Aurra and Jango had one as well, though Jango's was most certainly the faintest. It almost struck her as odd when her eyes drew skywards, knowing that elsewhere in the galaxy there were more bonds that he'd built with others.

She'd never felt something like this. A feeling of connection, one that she'd allowed when she'd opened herself to him, strongly wound between the two of them. And yet, Naruto had seemed oblivious to the bonds, merely doing things as he always did. He'd been doing so unconsciously, never realizing that he'd created them, or that there were so many beginning to form with many people.

Alongside that feeling though, was another of worry. Perhaps, even a bit of fear was mixed in as well. She hadn't imagined that she'd been so wrong. So, so very wrong.

On Alaris Prime, she'd felt a feeling of rage and overwhelming power that had washed over her, Qui-gon, and Obi-wan during their duel with Xanatos. When she'd reported to the Jedi Council, she'd said that the feeling had come from the forest. It was an unknown, something that none of the Jedi had any idea of. It was something she should have recognized when they'd spoken to the Wookiees.

It didn't make sense. The power she felt seemed heavy, different than what she'd noted the dark side felt during both her fights with Xanatos. With Xanatos, it had felt like lightning, energy reaching out to snap at those who approached it, while sending a tingle through the air that silently coaxed those who felt it to draw closer. The power she'd felt, Naruto's power it seemed, was different. This power was hot, like fire that ignited the air and threw its power, radiating brightly so that it shone alight in the Force in a way that she'd never felt before.

And even more startling had been what he'd _done_ with the power. He had stood in front of Xanatos. The power had been well in his hands to reach out and kill the man with his own two hands. Neither she, nor Xanatos, believed that the man would've survived if Naruto had turned his eyes on him. If he'd unleashed that power on him.

And then he'd run past the man, barely a brush against his leg with his lightsaber as he skid off the edge and saved a rancor from falling. A _rancor_ of all things. She could tell from the bond that it was more than the Force telling him to save her from falling. It had been his will that he'd gone and done this thing.

So what did that really mean?

Walking towards the shipyards, Aurra began to slow. Her eyes were distant, and lost. An'ya knew her thoughts, she'd realized it shortly after they'd met.

Naruto had missed the look, and so when Aurra fell behind, he found himself turning with a start. "Aurra?" Stumbling back, he watched as her eyes were trying to look anywhere except for towards him. "Aurra? What's wrong?"

"…I'm not coming back." She said softly.

"What?" Naruto blinked, taking another step forwards. "Come on Aurra, we finally found you. Let's go home."

"It's not my home."

Naruto stared at her silently, his eyes wide in surprise. Taking a step back, Naruto felt his heart clench tightly in his chest, and his mouth opened and closed in desperation. He waved his hands wildly, trying desperately to get words to form. Eventually, he closed his eyes painfully, and managed to his out the one word that was eating at him. "Why?"

"Because I don't trust them." Aurra stared directly at An'ya. The Dark Woman, the woman she'd thought had betrayed and abandoned her. Part of an organization that hadn't cared for her for seven years. Seven. _Long._ Years. "If I went back, I'd just end up leaving anyways. It's too stuffy, I can't do what I love, and with all the freedoms I've come to enjoy it's just the right choice to make in the end." Staring back to Naruto, she took a deep breath, turning away as his eyes opened. "And I can't do that to you either. I don't want to make you think that everything will be alright when it's not."

"I don't think it will, I _know_ it will." Naruto muttered, trying desperately to hold onto Aurra. After all this, was he losing her once more. "You're…I can't lose you again."

Aurra sighed, clenching her hand slowly. "I'm sorry. I just, I can't."

Turning her back on them, she began walking away. She'd silently hoped that Naruto's injuries would stop him from begin able to catch up to her. Feeling her arm gripped weakly though, she froze in place as she felt his hands gripping slowly around her. It rooted her to the spot, held her physically, through the Force, and gripped her very soul. He was hurting, and she could feel it.

"Don't go…not again…" Naruto muttered, pressing his head against her arm as he leaned against her. He felt so very weak, so tired as he held onto her. "I finally found you…I just – please Aurra I can't do this again."

Aurra slowly turned back towards Naruto. With his head bowed, he didn't see her look past him eyeing An'ya with a sharp stare. Despite the look An'ya seemed to catch her silent words, and she stepped back to give the two a private moment, though she did keep her eye on them to ensure she didn't lose Naruto; she'd learned her lesson plenty by this point.

"Naruto."

Naruto didn't move, eyes staring forwards as he saw her free hand move. Hiding it behind her own body and Naruto's as well, she curled a finger and tapped it against her hip slowly, a strange device nestled against her hip idly. It took Naruto several seconds before he slowly looked up to her, looking at her face curiously.

"I'll always be with you. Just don't forget to write when you get the chance, okay?"

"…okay." Naruto couldn't believe that he'd forgotten his birthday gift, but as she'd pointed to her half he'd been reminded of the device strapped his hip back close to the pouch he had tied to his back that held his holocron.

Gripping her hand again, he stepped back slowly. He didn't want to leave. He hated it. He wanted her to speak to him, to tell him it would be okay. Perhaps even to ask him to come along. A small part of him told him that if she asked that part would rise up and follow after her. It didn't matter where she took him, or where they ended up so long as they could be together he would be fine.

He would be okay.

Turning away from him, she walked away. There were no words said. If she spoke the words would cause her to choke, and neither of them would be able to leave this spot. Then again, if she spoke, there might've been a chance that they would have simply stayed on the planet; neither of them would have cared if they never left.

But, no words were slipped through her lips. None from Naruto's either, and he stood in the middle of the streets as she slipped into the crowd. Even as she vanished, Naruto stared longingly, lost as his body slowly began giving out. Sinking to his knees in the streets, his eyes slowly closed, and he began slowly shutting down.

An'ya did not move from her spot for a moment, giving him a moment to grieve. Eventually she moved up to his side, standing behind him but kept her hands from touching him. When she felt him finally give out, she leaned down and picked him up to carry him back to the ship.

After they took off, she moved to the back where he'd curled up on his bunk with a sad look on his face. When she'd entered, he rolled away, causing a frown to press down on her face as she slowly left him alone. Moving to the front once more, on their way back to Coruscant, she rubbed her forehead slowly as she let the weight of the situation fall on her shoulders.

Soon, they'd be back at the Temple, and there would be much to discuss.

* * *

><p>AN: And with that, the Nar Shaddaa Arc is completed. One or two transitionary chapters from now, and we'll get to play around in the world <strong>The One-Winged Angel<strong> (we thank you, wherever you are, for that genius name) named Ibonihs. Soon, we'll get to play with the ninja's.

Until next time, I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness.**


	41. Chapter 41

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p><em>Coruscant: Jedi Temple<em>

An'ya stood outside the Council Room silently, waiting for them to call her in. Her mind slowly went over what happened on Nar Shaddaa, and what she was going to tell them. It was difficult to know what exactly she would say, as she herself didn't know how to describe what had happened.

The doors opened slowly, and she stared in. She didn't enter immediately, taking a moment to simply look in. The masters looked back; many of them looked somewhat confused by her choice to remain outside for a moment. She didn't care. She needed this moment. The Force wouldn't tell her what to say the way she wanted it to, so she had to trust her instincts, and her understanding of the various council members.

Stepping into the room, her eyes went over the various masters slowly. Her demeanor brought a tension to the air, which was somewhat what she wanted. That tension, the edge that would hang around in the air, drawing them to give her words the respect she silently demanded. She needed that respect.

"Masters." She said slowly with a curt nod.

"Dark Woman." Mace said slowly, looking warily at her. "I'm surprised to see you back so soon. I would have imagined that you would've taken quite a bit of time before you decided to come back."

"I would have. However, the situation, and circumstances changed." She said her words slowly, giving herself a chance to review what she wanted to say to them. "While our situation seemed fair enough in the beginning, we soon found that our training was to be interrupted. Xanatos had followed us."

"Xanatos?"

An'ya nodded slowly, her lips pressed into a thin line. "It appears his recognition of me reminded him of our duel in the temple. I didn't realize that he'd chosen to follow me until he showed up, and by that point he seemed almost determined to finish what had started."

The masters remained silent, many of them having seen Xanatos desire for vengeance first hand when he'd attacked the temple. From damages to the building, to those who'd been startled and frightened by what had happened. Perhaps worse still was that one of the people who had been injured by Xanatos presence was Naruto.

"What happened?" Mace's words were almost more of a statement than a question, but An'ya answered anyways.

"We landed on the planet and began training, as per my usual training methods." This part was some of the trickier bit, but she pressed along regardless. "I tried my best to keep with him, to avoid the same issues that I had when I took Aurra."

She paused as she mentioned Aurra, remembering the girl. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it back and refocused on the now. "Unfortunately, his presence was…noted, and we were unable to stop him from separating us."

"He separated you?" Even Piell, the short stature, one eyed Lannik Jedi master on her left asked.

"Yes." She sighed, shaking her head. "During part of my training, he unleashed a handful of the droids he'd taken from the Trade Federation and set them loss against us. Apparently he hadn't sent them all to the drop point, and we were caught off guard." Sighing softly, she shook her head with a wry smile. "During the time we were separated, Naruto made friends with…a rancor."

"…a rancor?"

"A rancor. Someone must've brought it to the planet at some point recently, as I've yet to see one during my time there." It was true that she hadn't seen one, and that Naruto had found the rancor. "That being said, the creature protected him after Xanatos got at him."

"Go to him?" Windu asked, sharp eyes seeming to have a hint of concern. The man was many years Naruto's senior, and while he was a good student, he couldn't image that the encounter would have ended well.

"He isn't here because he's in a bacta tank in the hospital." She motioned around her, though it was unnecessary. Naruto's lack of presence was hard to miss from his boisterous nature. Pulling out a datapad, she looked over some of the information she'd been given. "Apparently he had nerve damage in various degrees of damage, electric burns, and several sprained muscles throughout his body. The last one is likely from his overexertion in an attempt to get back to me."

There was a heavy silence as they all took that in. For a boy so young, the idea of so much to have happened in so short a time was something none of them would ever wish. Worse still, only a few of them knew exactly what sort of thing could cause him such damage. Force lightning. An obvious Sith technique.

"Where…" Plo Koon said, though his words fell off as they all knew that there were many ways in which Xanatos could have learned it.

"I don't know. All I know is that when he found me again atop a mountain's plateau, the rancor carrying him, and was struggling to do…much of anything. Xanatos followed them, and attempted to attack them." She paused at this part. This was important. "He…there was much that happened there. Forgive me, there are many things in which I wish to speak of, and I ask permission to speak of them individually."

"You may." Master Windu said slowly, his mind still going over what had happened to Naruto before snapping once more to her. Likely, she had more in which she wished to say that would allow them more insight into what he felt was missing.

"Then the first I will speak of is the fate of Xanatos." While each of them quickly had an idea as to his fate, all were silent as they listened to what she said. "He was unwilling to back down, and due to his position, I'd drawn him into a place where escape was near impossible. I pushed him back to the wall, keeping him from striking me down as he used the dark side in a rage, and due to his rage I was able to slip behind him…and struck him down. He gave me no other options, and no other choice in the matter."

"Understanding, we are." Master Yoda said softly, stroking his chin slowly as he thought about it. Humming softly, he seemed to look understandingly towards her with a twinkle in his eyes. "More to say you have?"

"…yes, but that regards my second subject." An'ya felt her eyes fall slightly, knowing that this next part was going to be the most difficult for her to get through. "I have more that I've learned, in regards to the Sith holocron."

None of them had expected this turn of conversation, but she could feel several of them lean forwards slowly. On her right, Sifo-Dyas was now fully engrossed in her words as he listened. "I understand that there are connections between this, however I am curious to hear what you have to say regarding this subject."

"Of course." She crossed her arms, thinking over which parts were wise to add as there were many bits of speculation to her current thoughts. "The first part that I have discovered, was that when Qui-gon and I suppressed the dark side, is that I was a fool. I should have taken care of it earlier."

"Taken care of it earlier?" Even asked, eye narrowed slightly.

"Yes. I left the dark side around it for too long." Staring back to Even, she slowly looked to the other masters. "Do you recall what I said in regards to the holocron, and upon my finding it?"

"Yes. It was difficult to forget, seeing how we believed most if not all of the Sith holocrons had been destroyed years ago." Sifo-Dyas said, a sharp frown at the memory.

"I have found that I…greatly unstated my feelings regarding the holocron." The masters glanced between one another, but all eyes returned to her as she continued. "It was only after this last training that I was forced to recall the strength of the dark side around the holocron. The strength was overwhelming, and I feel that I would have succumbed. I _should_ have succumbed."

"But you didn't."

"No, I didn't. But not through my own strength of will. Had I been on my own, and were I to face it again, I fear that the dark side would have destroyed me."

"Destroyed you?" Windu asked, noting the particular wording. "You do not believe that it would have tried to turn you?"

"Oh, it tried. I could feel its desire to do so, and its hooks dug into my very being as it slammed into my mind. It broke through so many of my mental barriers, it tried desperately to corrupt me and force me to open it and break me. Do no presume me to be so weak that I would have fallen though. I have already chosen my path, no emotion or dark side influence will drag me where I do not wish to go." Her chin raised slightly, stance defiant and strong. "I would first be destroyed before I fell to the dark side."

"We believe you." Sifo-Dyas said after a moment of silence. However, he also noticed that this left a great deal of curiosity for them all as to what had actually happened. "Then, what is it that kept the dark side from doing just that? How is it that you stand before us now?"

"Naruto."

Her single word was met with no reaction. None of them seemed to understand the gravity of what she said. If anything, they all merely looked more confused by this.

With a soft grunt, she continued. "When I was nearly at the point of losing, Naruto's clone – the one that I'd met at the entrance – pushed the dark side away from me till he trapped it around the holocron like a vanguard. From that moment until it was unleashed again in the presence of…the entity. It was like Naruto's presence in the Force _repelled_ the dark side."

She now had all their attention on her. One of the members – a Jedi master of Yoda's race whose name she didn't recall – spoke up. "That's not –"

"Do not speak to tell me what is, and is not regarding this, masters." The master grew silent, taken aback by the sharpness of her voice. "I do not say that what I say is fully the truth or that it wasn't anything more than a stipulation. However, I speak what I felt, and I know that if it weren't for Naruto I would not stand before you on this day."

The verbal backhand was enough to stop them from continuing to question her. Staring forwards, she sighed as she continued. "This…leads me to the final thing. The thing which…worries me most." Gritting her teeth and let the Force calm her nerves before speaking again. "I discovered the identity of the entity that we discovered on Alaris Prime."

"Oh?" Once more Sifo-Dyas perked up in interest. "And what was it that was on Alaris Prime that caused such a…dark blot in the Force?"

Were she not aware of what she was to say, she'd have thought the description quite apt. Now, she only felt a pit in her stomach as she tried to focus on what she was going to say. "It came from Naruto."

"…Naruto?" Yoda asked, looking at her with a wise gaze. She was silently glad that Yoda was there, willing to lend his voice to her report. She needed a being of wisdom who might keep an open mind to what she would say. "What mean you, that Naruto is the entity that created such darkness?"

"I mean what I say Master Yoda." Her mind recalled the feeling on Alaris Prime, and the second one on Nar Shaddaa. "At the time, I had not realized that Naruto was the cause. He was too far away, and he was supposed to be helping the Wookiees in putting out the fire. While I heard his report, and that of the Wookiees, we did not wish to jump to conclusions."

"A wise choice you've made." Yoda said softly, a faint smile on his face. "More information you've received?"

She nodded slowly, knowing that this part of the discussion would be vital. "While we were on the plateau, Xanatos threw the rancor – Naruto's friend – from the plateau. And then…I felt it. It…" She cut herself off, shivering at the feelings. "It was like standing before a thermal detonator in the Force. And explosive energy that had waited so long to detonate, and then finally was blown in Xanatos face. He set it off, and all I could do for a moment was watch.

"Naruto was angry. He's seemed to have been quite emotional since we've travelled, perhaps even becoming more so since he's made friends. However, before this last trip, I didn't realize how much anger boiled beneath the surface." She stopped, realizing the light that she was painting Naruto in. "Despite this, what I watched next wasn't what I anticipated. With all that anger, all that energy, I swore that he'd leap forwards and strike down Xanatos. With the power rolling off of him, I wouldn't have thought he'd do anything _but_ attack the man. And, should he have done so, I would have been forced to attempt to strike him down as well. No student of mine will fall to the dark side in such a way. Not while I have a say.

"However, he didn't do that. Instead he leapt past the man, and caught his friend in the Force. He stopped the rancor from falling to its death. It was in an instance, a brief flicker of time between that moment and the next, and yet he did not use it to destroy the way I anticipated. I do not seek to impose my opinion as to what kind of power Naruto used, or what it meant in that moment…however, I have never seen the dark side used to _save_ lives."

"Mm, the dark side has many faces." Yoda said softly, though it was not in a reproving tone. "The dark side however, remains its true nature at the end. Touching the dark side, a mark it leaves."

"This is true master," An'ya said softly, still standing firm in her position. "Naruto is still a good boy, and has gone through much. He still has so much to learn, and so much to discover."

"And yet, you say he's touched the dark side." Sifo-Dyas said as he bit his lip as his eyes turned towards the other members of the council. The rest of the council had varying looks on their face; mainly that of worry, and a few of curiosity. "Such a thing is not looked upon in good conscious. We cannot simply allow him to draw upon the dark side. We've much history that has told us about what happens to those who fall to such acts."

"And we've seen them come back from that path as well." An'ya said, raising her hand before this became less of a discussion and more of an argument. "I am not saying that I want him to fall to that path. Far from it, I am saying that it would be better that I step in and tend to this while it is still in its early parts before he ends up going that way. It seems I can finally see the will of the Force in placing him under my tutelage; while I do not presume it will be easy, I do know my way around training an individual such as Naruto. It's something of my specialty, and I wish to look more into his…outbursts, so that I can determine what manner of reasoning is behind it."

The council remained silent, absorbing the information presented before them. It was a bit to take in, and they now understood that while they'd been spoken of individually, each of them played a part in one another. None of them knew what to say in regards to it, or what to think of it either. Even now, they all knew that they'd need to take a moment to discuss it amongst themselves before coming to their final decision.

"We will think on your words." Mace said, eyes unreadable as he slowly leaned back. "When will Naruto be returning from the hospital?"

"He began in the evening last night, so it shouldn't be more than a few hours, though I would hope that he'd be given some time to rest afterwards before coming before the council." She said softly.

Mace sighed heavily though his nose, thinking about it before shaking his head. "We'll call you both back when we've come to a decision regarding this matter. Until then, we trust that you'll keep an eye on the boy."

An'ya seemed almost slighted by the comment. "He's my padawan."

Taking that in stride, Mace bowed slightly to her. "Then may the Force be with you."

She stood silent, staring back to him. Then, with a small bow, she turned and left the room.

x-=-x

Floating in the liquid, Naruto's closed eyes felt heavy as he remained in suspension. He didn't wish to remain asleep, but in such a state, he could do nothing more than remain there. Bacta made him drowsy, heavy, and the only thing he could do was retreat inwards. Into the depths. Into…

His eyes snapped open as his weight suddenly seemed to fall completely onto his feet. The darkness around him forced him to squint, as there was barely any light radiating down the hall. As the area around him took shape, he found he recognized it. It was the area he'd been in when he'd seen the giant pillars. The place where he remembered the iron bars.

Turning towards the direction he recalled it being in, he jumped with a startled yelp as he realized that he was already in the courtyard, and that the iron bars were already before him. And beyond them, were those eyes. Those piercing, feral red eyes that seemed to eye him as little more than a pest who'd entered the wrong room.

"Foolish boy."

Naruto heard the words and flinched, the masculine voice booming as it echoed into the room. Then, taking the words silently into account, he scowled and turned to face it fully. "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I mean boy." The razor sharp teeth gleamed as a grin curled on the creatures face. There was a faint red glow to the best, its vulpine face seeming to almost glare down at him. "Such a foolish boy, so blind to the world, and so ignorant. I almost find your flailing amusing, and were it not that your fate were so tied into everything you touch I'd have reached out to crush you to end it all."

Right as Naruto opened his mouth to give a rebuttal, the room boomed with the slam of a curled claw mere feet away from Naruto's face. Despite having been told that the creature would not crush him, he couldn't suppress the shout as he stumbled back. Had he no training in keeping his balance during times of fright, he would likely have dropped onto his backside and been forced to look up at the creature. Despite not having reacted as it wanted, it dark laughter echoed regardless.

"Ah, good, you fear me." The creature's eyes gleamed in the darkness as he leaned forwards.

Its vulpine face moved closer, allowing him to get a good look at it; orange fur, sharp red eyes, and black fur that surrounded its eyes and ran up its long ears. Its arms weren't what he might have believed them to be, looking more like Wookiees hands with fingers that had less fir to expose each of the creature's claws. The very claws that almost crushed him.

Gritting his teeth and digging in his heels, Naruto clenched his eyes closes as his body was wracked with anger. Taking a deep breath, he needed to calm himself down. He couldn't start letting it get to him.

"Oh? You think you're going to just calm yourself then?" He felt a breath of hot air wash over him. "How cute."

Naruto's eyes opened very slowly, staring up at the entity with an unamused look. "What do you want?"

"Want? How interesting. The child wants to know what I want." The creature hummed, teeth slowly hidden as its grin faded away. "Maybe I should let you know. Or maybe…I should make you guess."

"And how would I know what you'd want if I don't even know who you are?!" Naruto scowled with his arms crossed with his eyes narrowed till he nearly had them closed.

To his surprise, the creature seemed to be taken aback for a moment. What? Was it something he said?

"…why do you ask that?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, his eyes slowly opening. "What do you mean?"

"What did you mean by that boy? You didn't ask 'what am I', you asked 'who am I'. I would have thought you'd have wanted to know what I was before knowing anything else."

"Yeah well," Naruto scratched his cheek. "I don't see how knowing what you are will change how I treat you. Besides, I don't like not knowing your name. It feels…weird."

The creature moved forwards a bit more, its eyes continuing to have that curious look in them. Taking a deep breath, Naruto's eyes widened as he blinked at the sight of its entire body beginning to be alight with a flaming light. In the back of its room, nine grizzled fur covered tails unfurling until it filled the room. Pushing itself upright, Naruto realized that the creature had a behemoth-like and colossal form that towered over Naruto. Even the Queen hadn't been nearly as large as this creature that stood before him.

"Who am I…" The creature scowled, teeth now looking like the blades of a savage that bore down threateningly. "You do not deserve to know my name _boy_. All I will give you, is what I am; I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the greatest of all the Bijuu."

The nine tailed fox. Tailed beast.

Naruto blinked rapidly. "The Kyuubi. And…where am I?"

"You are in my prison, and you are my warden." The Kyuubi muttered, eyes turning slowly darker into a glare.

"Your warden?" Naruto slowly turned his eyes to its room again. Now, the area around him felt more dank, drips of water slowly increasing in their pace. They became slowly a light drizzle wherever the water had first been coming. And suddenly, he realized what this was.

A cage.

He felt his stomach lurch slightly at the idea, biting his lip as though to push it back. Looking up towards the Kyuubi, the creature seemed to be less bemused and angrier at the look on his face. It seemed to know what he was going to say before the words came from his lips.

"I'm sorry."

The Kyuubi reared back and slammed into the bars, a wave of water washing towards him. Reaching out, Naruto parted the tidal wave with the Force, continuing to stare into its eyes. Silence seemed to resonate throughout the area now, neither of them moving as they stared into each other's eyes.

Then, with a crack like lightning the tails slammed into the bars again, trying to spray the water over him again. Wave after wave shot outwards in an attempt to crush Naruto with a wave of water. Naruto bat them all away, almost not noticing that the water began building around him. By the time he did, it was up at his waist, and making him struggle to keep his footing now. Despite the pillars, and lacking walls, the water seemed to simply move outwards into an eternity rather than pool around him.

"Be _gone_ boy." The Kyuubi growled. Rearing back its arm, it slammed it downwards into the water at its feet. This time the wave was colossal to the point where Naruto wouldn't be able to stop the force of nature that barreled towards him. "I'll deal with you when you've returned."

Naruto's eyes were closed, but as soon as they did so he felt them snap open and his gaze fell onto the bacta around him in wild confusion. Taking a deep breath, he realized he was attached to a respirator of some kind, feeding him air with each breath he needed. He was almost completely undressed, with only a specialized device for his modesty. His body ached, but as he moved it in the thick liquid, he found himself looking at now unblemished skin. No electric burns, or other wounds on his body. Slowly clenching his hand before him into a fist, he almost grinned when he felt no twitches or spasms in his muscles. The bacta had done its job well.

"Ah. You have awakened."

Naruto's eyes slowly rose up, staring at the droid observing him. Yelping, he pushed himself backwards with wide eyes as he took quick breaths. The droids seemed to notice this, and turned to the devices that were monitoring him. It made a humming noise, then turned back towards him.

"You seem to be doing much better. A small spike in your heartrate, but you are doing much better. I will fetch your escort while we let the bacta drain. Best to get you prepared to go. Many beings do not seem to enjoy the atmosphere, so I will not bother you."

Escort? What escort? Naruto had come here with his master. Was she not here? Then again, she might've gone ahead to talk with the council so that he could rest and recover. But even then, he could return to the temple shortly after he'd gotten out of the hospital. So who was waiting for him?

Before he could ask, the droid began draining before moving back towards the door. It spoke to someone outside his vision, calling for whoever it was to come closer. Feeling the bacta beginning to drain around him, he groaned and waited for the next part. Clenching his eyes shut, he waited for the short burst of water that would clean of every bit of bacta from his form. As it finally burst down over his head, Naruto shivered and breathed deeply. Reaching upwards, he slowly removed the respirator and took a deep breath as the container opened.

"I've been told that your escort will wait until you are properly dressed." The droid said again, almost causing Naruto to yelp once again. "Your body will still require some rest and fluids to have a full recover, however you've done well with the speed of your recovery in the bacta tank. One moment." The droid turned and grabbed a datacard, holding it out towards the boy. "These are your medical results. We ran a few extra tests as there were some discrepancies between your last test and those taken today."

Naruto hesitantly reached out and took the datacard from the droid. The droid moved slowly, seeming to recognize that Naruto was uncomfortable around it. Its bedside manner was well programed though, as it slightly bowed in a familiar motion that would set Naruto a bit more at ease. While Naruto didn't seem much at ease, he slowly allowed himself to bow back to it before it turned and left the room to give Naruto a sense of privacy.

"…at least he was nice." Naruto muttered, moving over to where his clothes lay, folded neatly on a nearby bed. Looking at the bed, he felt himself frowning as he looked down to his hands. "Wait, I'm being released?"

That couldn't be right. Had time really moved so strangely for him? Had he really been here a few days? Shaking his head, he groaned as he finally reached forwards and began pulling on his clothing. Maybe it had been, or maybe it hadn't. He'd find the date when he was ready. For now, he just allowed himself to get dressed and ready.

As he grabbed his belt, he felt the holocron again. Turning it over in his hands slowly, he thought back to the stories that had been told during his journey to Nar Shaddaa. The tales of a woman who became the Grand Master, who was an entity of light and had helped crash down on many in the dark side during her time. He'd never imagined that such a thing was possible, seeing how there was so little left of the Sith to be considered anywhere near an empire, and the Jedi were so congregated on Coruscant that he couldn't see how they possibly could defend the galaxy from a singular point in said galaxy.

The tales both excited, and worried him. Things were so different, so varied and had mentioned names of things that no longer existed. Why didn't they? Where did they go? He had so many questions that seemed to echo further and deeper into his mind as it was filled with the knowledge of the fast.

Suddenly hearing a knock at the door, Naruto's eyes slowly rose with a confused look. "Um, yes?"

"Are you quite finished?"

Naruto didn't recognize the voice, but he was forcibly reminded that there was someone waiting on him. Wrapping his belt around his waist, holocron left in the pouch for later review. Moving over to the door, he opened it and found himself looking upwards to the man.

The man was older Jedi from the way he held himself and his lightsaber at his hip. He had a lean form, dark brown hair with much of it was becoming white due to his age beginning to show. Wearing a dark variant of the Jedi's tunic, his face looking like a flat stare for a moment before curling slightly. The man's face was surprisingly gentler than he'd expected from his voice, and Naruto felt himself relaxing slowly as he bowed to the man.

"I see you've dressed yourself." The man said, motioning for him to come out of the room. As he did so, the man walked beside him. "You master asked that I keep an eye on you in case you woke before she returned, to take you back to the temple. Come, let us be off then."

"Ah." Naruto made sure to keep step with the man, glancing up towards him curiously. "Um, master? How do you know Master Kuro?"

"Only by reputation. She knew of me from my apprentice, Qui-gon."

"Eh? You're Qui-gon's old master? But…" Naruto's eyes widened as he realized who he was. "You're Master Dooku."

Dooku glanced down to him, a pleasant look on his face. He was a very well-known master, one of the great masters, and one of those who was trained by Master Yoda. He was a master of the blade and the Force, and was looked up to by many younglings. Sheeka had spoken much about him as he was one of the inspirations for her to become a Makashi user.

"I am, though it seems my reputation precedes me." Dooku said with a soft chuckle. "Come. There is much that I wish to discuss, if you are willing."

"Of-of course." Naruto stuttered, keeping pace with the man.

Even as he moved though, he found himself thinking about the words that had been spoken just moments before by the Kyuubi. Or was it days? He didn't know. He didn't know what to make of some of its words, but…

"_I'll deal with you when you've returned."_

He didn't know what the Kyuubi had meant by that. But with all that had been happening to him so far, he could only hope that – Force willing – it might be an easy event. In the coming months, he would only find that that desire would be met with disappointment, followed by great pain.

* * *

><p>AN: Alright, so our first part is maneuvering quite well, and on the next chapter we'll get Naruto moved another step ahead. Soon, so soon, we'll get to Naruto's journey to his homeworld.<p>

To everyone asking about jutsu and chakra and all the ninja stuff; _patience_. Obviously I can't answer those questions, it'd be spoilers. I'm eager to get there, but don't worry, the answer will be given in the coming arc.

Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness**.


	42. Chapter 42

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>It took a while for Dooku and Naruto to travel back to the temple, taking a bit of a more scenic route that had confused Naruto up until he'd arrived at the Senate Building. As they'd pulled in, it had become apparent that Dooku had something he needed to take care of.<p>

He'd called An'ya Kuro earlier, making sure that she knew that he'd been taken from the hospital and was now with Dooku. She'd been somewhat relieved, and simply asked that he returned him in one piece, and that he try not to get separated from the boy. He'd chuckled softly, saying that he would since he thought she was joking.

Her unamused face told him otherwise.

Walking into the building, Dooku glanced down to the boy with a thoughtful look. "I have some business to take care of, and will be back shortly. If you like you can wait here, and when I'm done we can leave."

"Um…" Naruto muttered softly, scratching the back of his neck. "I actually have some letters I wrote that I'd like to send back to Naboo to some friends. Pal – Senator Palpatine told me that I could give them to him to send them."

Dooku seemed surprised by this, but nodded after a moment's thought. "I see no harm in this. Be swift though, we still have much to do once we get back to the temple."

"Yes master." Naruto said with a small bow. Turning on his heel, he made his way as quickly as he could.

Watching as the boy left, Dooku hummed softly. There was a great deal of questions that pestered his mind, and many more he needed answers to while he was still in the temple. The Dark Woman had given him permission to ask as he pleased, and told him that whatever answers he found were for him to make. She did tell him though, that if something happened to Naruto, she wouldn't allow the slight to go without justice following. He'd found the reply odd, but he'd acknowledged it and then left to assist her. After his slight earlier, not believing her when she'd mentioned being separated, he chose to simply accept her words and do what he could. Turning his back to the boy, he entered the room.

x-=-x

Naruto jogged down the hall, eyes darting about as he made his way through the building. It had taken a bit of work to memorize the area, but he silently was thankful that he was able to find the Naboo Senatorial room. Entering the room, he skid to a stop in front of the secretary and glanced up to them.

"Um, is Senator Palpatine in?" Naruto asked, looking a bit nervous. It was the first time that he'd come into the room, and he was nervous. It took him a moment to remember that Palpatine had given him access to the room, as when the secretary looked up at him, he was surprisingly recognized.

"Ah, yes. The senator wasn't expecting you, but allow me to see if he's in." They flipped a switch. "Senator the boy, Naruto Uzumaki, is here."

"_Ah, good. Send him in."_

Naruto's eyes widened. The doors opened, and Naruto glanced towards it before hesitantly moving towards it. Within the room, Palpatine was looking over some of the datapads before him before smiling up to him.

"Naruto." Palpatine said with a kind smile, motioning for him to come into the room. "I was expecting you to come at some point. I didn't expect you to come so soon."

"So soon? I've been gone almost three months now." Naruto said, feeling very confused by the man's words. "I –"

Palpatine held up his hand, kind expression remaining. "The schedule of a Jedi is as ever changing as that of a senator's. To find time where we can meet together rather than have you give your letter to my secretary. I find it rather, impersonal."

Naruto couldn't help but smile as he walked up to the man. He liked Palpatine. He was honest. "Well, I guess we got lucky then." Pulling out his datacard, he hesitantly placed it on the desk. "It took me a bit to figure out what to say, but I've come up with a few things."

"That's good." Palpatine said softly, leaning back in his chair. "I can imagine that within the last couple of months you've had a great deal that's transpired."

Laughing lightly, Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. It's been really boring honestly, but maybe they'll find it to be interesting."

"Considering, that many of them have never left the planet, I can imagine that they'll be quite pleased with information about anywhere." Palpatine hummed, glancing from Naruto to his datapad.

"Oh." Naruto blinked, humming softly before thinking about that. He remembered when he'd been in the temple, locked away and unable to leave until he'd become a padawan to An'ya Kuro. "Well, then I'll have to write a few more. Ugh." Naruto rubbed he head. "I'm going to have to take more time remembering all of them and their faces. With all the people I'm meeting now, I'm having trouble remembering them all."

"Well," Palpatine rolled his hand slowly, as though coaxing Naruto to give him his attention. "If you'd like, I could send a request for them to send a holophoto so that you could have something to reference."

Naruto stood straight with a start. "I wouldn't want to impose –"

"It would be no trouble at all." He said dismissively. "Besides, it would be quite the shame if you found yourself forgetting about the very friends you've made. It would be unbecoming of a Jedi after all."

He didn't know what to say. The idea that this man was willing to put in effort to help him, even if it would only take just a few moments, made him silently happy.

"Thank you." Naruto gave a small bow, smiling softly. "I really appreciate it."

Palpatine gave a slight bow in return. "Of course. Is there anything more that I can do?"

"No, I should be fine." Naruto paused, glancing back to the door. "I…do think I need to go though. Master Dooku said he wouldn't be long, and I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Ah, Master Dooku?" Palpatine said with a nostalgic smile. "He's quite the Jedi from what I remember."

"You know him?" Naruto asked, somewhat surprised by this.

"Yes, I do. I met him on a trip with my mentor. The meeting was rather interesting, seeing how his apprentice had a disagreement with my mentor. The man was rather strong willed, and I much appreciated his words." He chuckled. "It's nice to know that not everyone is swayed under his words. As a politician, it makes things very interesting when you have someone voices their opinion. It's not fun to enjoy the dance of words if there aren't two people to partake."

"Huh," Naruto blinked. "I've never thought about it like that before."

"Even amongst like-minded individuals, the dance of words between ideas and perspectives can shed light on things even you did not recognize as being possible beforehand." Palpatine said, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps one day we will be able to discuss some of our opinions. I'm sure they'd be quite enlightening to hear."

Naruto smiled at that, nodding vigorously. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll try to find a time where we can meet up in the future. I…don't know when that is, but I'll make sure you're in before coming in so we don't miss each other."

"That would be wise." Palpatine held out his hand. "Regardless of when it is, I look forward to it."

Naruto took his hand and shook it with a smile. After bowing to him, he moved towards the door heading out to meet up with Dooku again. Before he got to the edge of the doorway he skid to a halt, something dark flaring up behind him. As he whipped around and shifted into a defensive stance, eyes darting around wildly as he tried to see what it was.

Palpatine looked at him curiously, unsure what was going on as Naruto slowly relaxed and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Um, sorry. Just…thought I felt something."

"You felt something?" Palpatine said, quietly as though he were troubled by Naruto's admission.

"Yeah." Naruto frowned as he looked through the room again. "But I don't see anything, so…I guess my recovery is making me twitchy. Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

Palpatine made a slow dismissive motion, his face still looking perturbed regardless. "I do not take the mere 'feelings' of Jedi lightly. I'll have some of my security check around to see if they can determine anything that might've created it. Tell me, what was it you felt, so that I can better inform them of what to look for?"

"Well…it wasn't a specific feeling that I can think of." Naruto mulled over his words, the exact description seeming to escape him. Settling on a sort of middle ground, he bit his lip before voicing his thoughts. "It was like someone had malicious intent somewhere very close. It…" Naruto shook his head. "I swear it was like they were so close."

"…do you think it's possible that whoever it was passing by?"

"I don't know. I've never felt this –"

_Frustration, confusion, fear. So much emotion, like a hail of blaster fire being fired at and around him towards the other younglings. No. He couldn't let him! He couldn't. Drawing all of it towards him, it slammed into him and the overwhelming weight of it all falling on him. And then he realized his mistake. It was all of them; him, the younglings, Bruck, it was all of their emotions. Suddenly he saw the dark crimson eyes that stared into his own and hovered in the air before his eyes. Oh…this was worse._

"…maybe once, but that was…I don't remember when that was." Naruto admitted, unable to figure out what had just happened. He held his head gently, closing his eyes.

Palpatine let himself slip, if just for a moment. Behind his eyes flashed a bemused gleam that slowly settled back into its more common, cheerful expression. "It's alright Naruto, no need to strain yourself. As I said, I trust you, and will look into the matter regardless. Perhaps I'll even discover something that none of my people were able to find beforehand. I'll keep you posted in case anything comes up."

"Wait, really?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly then quickly bowed fully at the waist. "I – um, okay. Thank you. I'll be sure to keep an eye out myself."

"Take care." Palpatine kept his eyes on Naruto as he departed, then slowly leaned back with his fingers pressed together as a smile grew on his face. "Yes…take good care of yourself. I quite look forward to our future meetings."

x-=-x

Later, when they'd finally arrived in the temple, Dooku had Naruto follow him to one of the meditation rooms. Though confused by Dooku taking him to the side, he found himself following regardless. After the meeting with Palpatine though, and the hallucination – or was it a memory? – that he'd seen, he was suddenly very anxious as he walked through the temple. Something about this place no longer felt safe.

It was distracting, and disturbing to have these thoughts running through his head. It didn't help at all that Dooku kept glancing back every now and then, making him far more twitchy. Gritting his teeth when he wasn't looking, Naruto found himself forcing his hand to remain by his side, and not go to his lightsaber for something to help calm him. Eventually, it moved over to the rancor tooth in his back pouch. He'd snuck it off the planet, and kept it as a reminder and a keepsake of the Queen. She hadn't minded, though she also didn't understand the concept of a keepsake either.

The tooth was wasn't that helpful, but it reminded him of the connection he'd made with the Queen. Sighing softly, he shook his head and refocused forwards. Jumping slightly, he realized he'd sighed rather vocally, getting Dooku's attention.

"Is something the matter?"

"Huh? N-no, I'm fine." Naruto said, but let his head drop slowly at the white lie. "I'm just…I have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"I see." Dooku's expression didn't change much, but the look in his eye said different. Turning forwards, he motioned towards the meditation room.

Naruto entered wordlessly, but paused when he realized that the room wasn't one of the normal ones. It was smaller, with only two meditation mats, and as such there was no one else in the room. Dooku had led him to a private meditation room? Why?

Dooku entered a moment later, sitting down on one of the mats before motioning for Naruto to join him. Uncertain and hesitant, Naruto slowly sat across from him. If he wanted to stop him, he could at any point. He was a Jedi Master. If he so wanted he could drag Naruto back with a flick of his wrists before Naruto even had a chance to get to the hallway.

The thought scared him. He'd pulled so many pranks, done so many things, and never once had it occurred to him how easily a Jedi Master might be able to stop him had they not seen his pranks as harmless. Now, he was considered a padawan, and his childishness might be looked upon with more disdain since he'd become a Jedi. Worse yet, he'd spent so little time in the temple after becoming a padawan, that he didn't know what to expect from the masters anymore.

"Naruto." Dooku's voice snapped his attention from his musing, and made him flinch internally. It seemed to be something that Dooku picked up on, and his frown made Naruto flinch again. "Relax boy, I asked your master if it'd be alright to speak with you. There are questions that have come to my mind due to some of your actions, and I was hoping to gain some understanding. It would be foolishness to ask anyone else, seeing as the only person who can give me the truth is you."

Naruto blinked. "Answers?"

Dooku seemed to pause at that, understanding from Naruto's confusion that it wasn't quite obvious what he meant. Interlocking his fingers together, he let himself ponder how to reply to his question for a second before smiling. "Your actions are very noble, yet you have a recklessness I've not seen since…well, admittedly a few people, though your actions have drawn quite a bit of attention from many master's in the temple."

"Ah…" Naruto's head bowed slightly as he felt somewhat embarrassed.

"No need to be so abashed. The things that've been said, while on occasion have been annoyed due to some of your actions, have had varied responses. That being said, much of what's been said has me thinking."

"Thinking about what master?"

"Well," Dooku stroked his chin gently, thinking over his first question carefully. "During your padawan trials, I took note on what you did. After thinking about it, I decided I want to hear your reasoning for fighting with such untraditional attacks."

"Untraditional? Oh, you mean –" Naruto froze, recalling what he'd done. Scratching his cheek, he chuckled nervously. "I mean…" Seeing Dooku's face, he quickly realized there was no getting out of it. With a despondent groan, he slowly shrugged. "I wanted to win."

Dooku didn't move, giving Naruto a moment to continue. Not getting anything from him, he sighed and shook his head. "I see. So that's your reasoning then."

"Well, yeah." Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I mean, when I lose, that means someone got hurt. I don't like that thought. It…"

_Those eyes, those feral red eyes. The eyes now knew that were those of the Kyuubi. The eyes that hungered for retribution, for vengeance. A growl echoed in his mind, and claws soon began forming, reaching out to grip his mind. The Force warned him that his path would change him, would drown him and drag him into the pits of darkness. The very darkness that was now seeking to crush him. _

"…not again." Naruto said softly, his eyes distant, and haunted. What was going on? He couldn't understand it. These were not memories he remembered. And…Bruck. He saw Bruck. The youthful, and edged eyes stared back into him; so very different than Darth Zealot, the man who he eventually became.

"Again?" Dooku perked up, eyes widening as he suddenly realized that the atmosphere around Naruto had changed. "So there was a time that you lost then? A time when others were hurt?"

"Yeah. The memories are kind of fuzzy, but I never forgot the feeling." Naruto gripped his pant leg. "No one should feel that weak. I –"

"Calm yourself Naruto. I understand." Images of a Mandalorian tearing through the Jedi who'd come in an attempt to resolve what should have been a simple dispute played through his mind. "I apologize if I brought up some painful memories. That was not my intention."

"It's okay. I'm just…" Naruto glanced up to Dooku, then shook his head. "I'll be fine. Just, yeah. That's why I fought like that. I want to win, and if I let myself lose…I dunno. I didn't think that far ahead when I was fighting."

"And yet, despite not thinking so far ahead, you were able to plan out several methods of defeating two of your superior opponents. I honestly did not see the first of the two battles, the second against your fellow youngling _was_ one I had the opportunity to see." He tapped his chin, bringing back the memory. It had been over six months, but he'd been able to review the duel and contemplate it. "Perhaps, you might enlighten me as to what you did."

"Oh. Well, you see, that was a while ago, and I don't remember all the details." Naruto frowned, thinking over what had happened. "I…think I just cloaked myself so that he couldn't see me, and waited for him to give up after I tried a straight on approach. It was the easiest thing to do, especially since I really didn't want to try and fight him head on. He hits like a Wookiee."

"He is a robust boy, though with the right application of your skills, you can out duel him."

"With Niman?" Naruto grimaced. "I'm not the best duelist master. I'm good, and when I can use everything around me, I'm great. But I'm great because I don't have anything to hold me back. The Force, anything around me, even other people around me. Niman…Niman isn't meant for dueling, it's meant for fighting with everything you have. _Everything_."

Dooku said nothing, but internally he understood what Naruto was saying. In his mind, he hadn't cheated; he'd followed the spirit of Niman. It was an acceptable answer for him, as Makashi was meant for dueling rather than blocking blaster bolts. Each had their strengths and weaknesses, and while unconventional it made Dooku a bit more at ease to know that.

"I suppose that is a fair point." Dooku stroked his beard idly, humming as he thought about what to ask next. "If it's not asking too much, I'd like to ask your thoughts on your actions. Particularly the expressive emotions you continually portray as you've grown up."

Naruto crossed his arms, frowning at that. Fear or not, he was quick to put his foot down on this particular matter. "I'm not going to become some emotionless statue, and I'm not giving up the attachments I have to people."

Dooku frowned. Naruto had suddenly become quite defensive, and had apparently misconstrued his intent. Before he spoke though, he thought through what he saw in his eyes. Defiance? No, it was resolve. Naruto was resolved and unwilling to back down. These were not bad emotions in his mind, but for Naruto to have had such eyes worried him.

"Calm yourself Naruto, I did not intend to make you defensive. What I meant was that I am curious as to _why_ you are so expressive. I've worked with many different Jedi of different temperaments, and each is quite unique. That being said, you master has a…reputation for training rather rebellious students, and they eventually grow to have hints of darkness that no Jedi can explain. Since you are still young and learning, I wanted to see if I could understand your mind and thoughts now, before she trains you so that I can understand what it is that changes her padawans."

Naruto flinched at that, having heard a few of the rumors. He honestly didn't understand what they all meant by what they said, but he quickly had determined that he didn't care for it. If he was a bit darker than your average Jedi, it didn't matter so long as he was a Jedi at the end of the day. It also gave him a bit more room to be himself without locking himself away from his emotions. Looking up to Dooku though, he felt…a small bit of kinship with the man. Perhaps, he could be honest with him?

Biting his lip, he took a slow, deep breath. "Master, may I ask you a question?"

Dooku's lips pressed together tightly into a silently put off. "You did not answer my question."

"It'll explain, I promise." Naruto held up his hands, slightly defensive now. "I…can just forget it."

Dooku held up his hand. "No, you are right. I asked you a question, and it was rude of me to dismiss your query. By all means, speak your mind."

Naruto took a deep breath. This question was something that had ate away at him since he'd been on Naboo, and while he had opportunities to speak with his master, she'd already given her opinion on it. "What do you think of the Jedi Code?"

"The Code?"

"I mean…" Naruto clenched his hands slowly, eyes staring at his palms. "Why is it that any time I say it the words feel forced? I've said them, I know them, but I don't _believe_ them. There's something about them that's wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Yeah. I mean, you know it as well as any other master."

"Of course. Every youngling is mean to learn it before becoming a padawan learner." Dooku was intrigued by this shift in the conversation. This wasn't where he'd expected, however he too had his own ideas about the Jedi Code himself. Perhaps Naruto had some insight that he did not?

Naruto sat up straight, placing his hand over his heart. "There is no emotion, there is peace. It's the first line, and it's the start of what might be the biggest lie in the Jedi Order."

One could hear a pin drop as soon as he said it. What Naruto spoke of could be considered heresy. To speak of the code with such open, and perhaps even dark words, could quite easily get Naruto kicked out of the Order. It could end up with everything that Naruto had lived for and worked on for the last eight years completely redundant, and superfluous.

Yet, Naruto had chosen to reveal his thoughts to perhaps one of the only Jedi who would allow him to speak his mind freely. "And what do you mean by that?"

Naruto's hand slowly clenched tighter around his chest. "There is no emotion. How much more of a lie is that? Everyone has emotion; civilians, politicians, even Jedi. No one is free from them. And…when I've looked back into the history of the Jedi, I…found that the code actually changed a while back."

"Of course it did." Dooku said, having reviewed that particular change before. "Even the Jedi have changed over time. It's nothing that other organizations haven't gone through before."

"But _why?_"

"…I don't understand the question."

"Why change it? What was so bad about the code that it needed to be changed?" Naruto scratched his head gently. "I've looked through a couple of records, but the only code that I've been able to find is the current one. It's so frustrating."

Dooku considered his next decision. It wasn't a choice that many would approve of, but as Naruto was being open with his opinions on the code, it might help him to at the very least adhere to one of the Jedi Codes. "Emotion, yet peace."

Naruto's head snapped up, eyes wide and attention fully on Dooku.

"Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force." Dooku sighed softly. "It's the old code, before Odan-Urr helped rephrase it in a way that was easier for the Jedi at the time to understand."

"Easier?" Naruto raised a brow at that. "But, isn't the point of the Jedi to walk the higher path? To do the things that are harder than what others have to go through?"

"Perhaps, but that does not mean that we are not immune to falling. After all, there have been many in the history of Jedi who've fallen to the dark side." Dooku sighed, remembering all of that history as well, including Xanatos; his padawan's student. "And, perhaps that is the distinction one must realize. With our code, we separate the light from the dark, more fully grasp to that which is good and wholesome in the galaxy."

"But that's the lie."

Dooku paused, raising a brow at that. "And what do you mean?"

"We're afraid of the dark side."

_That_ had not been what Dooku expected. "I beg your pardon?"

"We're scared of it." Naruto gripped his knees, eyes slowly falling. "If we fall, who will catch us? We aren't supposed to have attachments, so we won't get close to people. When we start feeling things, how many of us are going to be ready for them if we don't practice them?"

"Emotions are a dangerous. They can be manipulated, twisted, and warped beyond their original intent." Dooku cautioned.

Naruto gripped his head with a growl. "I _know_. But no one seems to understand that. I _get it._ But no one answers my question."

Dooku remained silently, not wanting to answer without putting serious thought into what he'd asked. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to meditate on them. Naruto made some good points, though they were obviously a child's hope filled words. He had felt similar question arise in his mind on occasion, but hearing them aloud was strangely comforting. It wasn't just him who was finding themselves filled with doubt about the Code and the Jedi's path.

"_Truly wonderful, the mind of a child."_

"I don't know." Dooku admitted. "These are not things that we find ourselves faced with often enough to bring such things to others attention it seems. I do understand the confusion you feel, but regretfully, I can share no more thoughts regarding the subject."

Naruto sighed, nodding slowly. It was somewhat distressing to know that even master's didn't have all the answers to his questions. How was he supposed to know what the right path was if he couldn't get answers from the people who were supposed to be guiding him?

"However," Naruto perked up. "If I do come across anything to help us answer these questions, and to bring them into the light, I will make you aware."

Naruto was somewhat surprised by that. A master, was promising that he'd help him? On a subject that was technically heretical? With a bit of hesitance, he bowed to the master. "Thank you. I'd greatly appreciate your help on these matters."

"Of course. Knowledge, is the greatest asset to any being. The Jedi are not excluded from this. And often times, the sharing of such knowledge is what makes us as Jedi a truly strong force in the galaxy." Dooku smiled gently. "Besides, there will be many times in which your first question can be banished simply by doing just this; working together, and helping keep one another from falling to the dark side."

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I get it." Perking up, Naruto's eyes seemed to almost gleam as he smiled brightly. "You see?! That's what I mean."

Dooku remained silently, his own words suddenly repeating in his mind again as though to reinforce them. "…you have quite a sharper wit than I was led to believe. It seems, there is still much for all of us to learn."

"Yeah…we're never going to stop are we?"

"Even Master Yoda is still learning new things, eight centuries notwithstanding." Dooku shrugged. "I find him meditating on various holocrons that have been collected throughout the many years, including the Great Holocron and its many secrets."

Naruto laughed softly, shaking his head. "When I first got here, I said I'd be as strong as Master Yoda in nine years. When I realized a lot of his strength came from his mind, I tried so hard to study and cram as much into my head as I could all at once."

"Let me guess, you ended up with a splitting headache that lasted a week?"

"No. Just three days." Naruto shrugged. "I guess I didn't read enough then."

"Don't forget Naruto, that much of Yoda's strength comes also from experience, and wisdom. Things that _will_ take time for you to acquire. You can't force wisdom in yourself, as much as you can't force it in others." Dooku reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Think on what we've spoken of. When we have a chance, at another time, we'll discuss the wisdom we've gained."

Naruto nodded, then frowned. "But Master Dooku, I still haven't answered your question."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You were right. Your question has allowed me to understand you a little better. And, now that I've heard your thoughts as well, it will make for an interesting mile marker for when we speak again." Dooku stood, taking a step back. He slowly gave a small bow to Naruto, startling Naruto. "Until we meet again, may the Force be with you."

Naruto blinked, biting his lip before quickly bowing back to the master. "And with you master. I look forward to our next meeting. It should be quite enlightening."

"Agreed."

Dooku turned and left the room, eyes staring down the hallway with a lost look in his eyes. Naruto's words, though filled mostly with many questions of his own, now weighed heavily on his mind. Behind him, Naruto was also lost in thought. Those words, they weighed heavily on his mind.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death…yet the Force."

It was the old code. It was a lost code. And it was a code that gave Naruto the flexibility to think of the Jedi and the Force in a new light. A new light, that began leading him from the darkness he found himself buried in.

Soon though, these words would also be the only thing left for him on a war torn world.

* * *

><p>AN: This is one of the chapters I've <em>really<em> been wanting to write since it's the prelude chapter that's before Ibonihs, and the last piece to place to finish rounding out Naruto's mind to prep him mentally. He'll need it.

Now for that fantastic Q&A.

**Rakaan**: Good, someone caught on to the fact I haven't mentioned such a thing up until last chapter. And thankfully, that part of that will be spoken of and discussed in the next chapter.

**MEleeSmasher**: An excellent question! To answer that, I'll ask this; how old was Star Killer in Force Unleashed? That might help give you an idea, but remember I still have to go through Ibonihs first. You'll understand soon enough.

**Dark Lord Of Ori**: Patience. I cannot reveal something like that. Besides, there's still a lot of time before Naruto will be at that part.

**Voxination**: Well, a month and a half, but yes. I have written a lot of chapters really fast.

Anyways, Ibonihs comes soon, so I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness**!


	43. Chapter 43

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>Walking down the hall of the senatorial apartments, Palpatine let himself slowly loosen his bonds on his façade as he entered his rom. Taking a deep breath, he hummed as he reviewed everything that had occurred. There were so very little that had actually happened, but that one moment when Naruto had showed up had intrigued him.<p>

It had only been a moment, a brief slip in his mental barriers as he'd felt anger at having to hide from the Jedi rather than outright draw Naruto into the Sith. It happened on occasion, but he hadn't let it happen more than once or twice so that none of the Jedi would notice. Naruto was supposed to be a padawan, and his senses weren't supposed to be focused enough to feel it. Yet, Naruto had sensed the brief slip.

He shouldn't have been able to. It was just a second. Masters hadn't even paused, but Naruto had full on spun on his heel and stared almost right at him. He might not have known that Palpatine was the source of it, the mere fact that he'd noticed made him all the more intrigued.

The boy was an enigma. He'd only seen him twice now, and apparently he'd missed a meeting with him on Naboo as he'd been a few days to late. The boy was constantly on the move, continually doing more out in the galaxy, helping several worlds. His skills weren't yet spoken of, though he'd gotten to speak with a few of the council members who'd mentioned their confusion and trepidation about the boy.

Moving into his room, he hummed as he looked over the datacard in his hand. It had taken some careful manipulations to get Naruto's recent records. The fact that several segments had been labeled with alerts that said there were discrepancies. He'd looked them over, and knew that such information would be quite desired by his master.

Sidious knelt before his master's image, waiting patiently for acknowledgement before rising. As the shadowy image of his Munn master slowly took shape before him, standing over him with his imposing dark gaze. His breathing was slow through the respirator, making some who were unfamiliar with him rather disturbed. Sidious was used to it.

"Rise my apprentice." Plagueis raised his hand slowly allowing Sidious to stand before him. "What have you found?"

"A discrepancy." Sidious said, uploading the data to send to his master. "While it's simply one of many Jedi, there are some…discrepancies that has caught my attention. I believe you will find this to be interesting as well."

Plagueis nodded slowly, pulling up the information as soon as it was sent. His eyes slowly read through it, making sure to do so thoroughly. Humming softly, he pulled up the second listing that had the previous listed medical reports. Scratching his chin slowly, Plagueis stared back to Sidious. "Are you certain these reports are accurate. These discrepancies don't' seem natural."

"I made certain to look deeper into this before I came to you." Sending a second bit of data, he grinned darkly. "I looked deeper into this matter, and discovered this tidbit of information."

Plagueis hummed, looking at it slowly. When his eyes paused, Sidious knew he'd seen what had drawn his own attention. "Homeworld unlisted. And…near-human classification? I thought you said he was a human?"

"That's what I thought." Sidious said, leaned back and chuckled softly. "However, it seems that the Jedi have hidden away the truth. It's possible that Naruto is…something new."

"Then, these reports…" Plagueis looked over the information again, frowning. "This still does not seem possible. I've never heard of changes in a being's body. Recovery rate is abnormally fast, his blood levels are shown to have increased, and a…unknown radiation? And…"

"It's affected his midi-chlorians." Sidious brought up the two data before himself to make sure that he was seeing the information as well. "From what I understand, his initial midi-chlorian levels was around eight thousand when he initially was admitted to the Temple eight years ago."

"So old? I would have thought the Jedi wouldn't have accepted him."

"I don't know why they did not, however it's certainly to our benefit." Sidious rubbed his chin slowly, thinking over what he'd seen. "Then again, they've also left out a great deal of information."

"True. However, there is little that we will not uncover. If the Jedi wish to keep it hidden, then we have all the more reason to uncover it." Plagueis hummed before turning back to Naruto's readings. "Still, for his midi-chlorians have increased to over nine thousand makes me wonder."

"Wonder, master?" Sidious hands fell slowly, his smile falling into a frown. The look in his master's eyes was troubling, far reaching and almost lost on something. He'd had this look on his face more and more often as he began seeking for the scientific knowledge behind the mysteries of the Force.

"It's too soon to say, but I'll keep an eye on it and see if I can bring something up when I get the chance." Were Sidious able to see his face beneath his respirator, he'd have sworn that the Munn was smiling. "The theories and the prospects are interesting, though admittedly I must wait until I can complete several sets of tests. Perhaps, I may even be right in my theories."

"Your theories?"

"Until I know for sure, the only thing I will say is that there's a possibility that the boy is connected to something ancient." The Munn crossed his arms, a dark gleam in his eyes. "I assume you're keeping an eye on him now?"

"As much as I've been able to considering he is deep in the temple. I have a valid reasoning to speak with him though, so our influence may work upon him. As soon as I am able, I'll send you a couple blood samples so that you can advance your studies."

"Good. Keep me posted on your findings, as well as if there are any more changes. I will make certain to do the same."

"Yes master, and thank you." Sidious bowed, letting the image fade before his eyes focused on the data once again. "Naruto Uzumaki. Just…what are you? And how can I get you on our side?"

Moving to the back room, he went to meditate. There was much in the Force he still needed to know. His plans had been shifting, changing, and he needed to try and search for what would best help him achieve his goals. In time, he would understand.

x-=-x

For the next week, Naruto spent time doing what he could to keep in motion so that he could try to think out everything that was going on. Each place, each person, and each meaningful conversation. They all sank into his mind, while some other things almost felt like they were weighing down on his very being.

No matter what he did, from practicing alchaka, to saber practice, he always had something going through his mind as he moved. Moving meditation was something that helped him become drawn into the Force, losing himself to each velocity as he struggled with it all. For a little over six months, he'd had so many things forced into his head that he tried desperately to understand it all.

Now in his room, Naruto stared up at the ceiling of his room, focusing to remember everything he'd gone over with Dooku in particular. There had been so many things that were now eating at him, and so many things no longer felt like they were in place anymore. What could he believe anymore?

In his hand, he had a datapad that he'd written the old code on, trying to keep it stuck in his mind as he tried to burn the words into his mind. They were so much more difficult to understand, and yet gave him so much more to interpret at the same time. When he'd read the words to Vima, she'd pulled up Nomi Sunrider reciting the same words. Naruto had to resist the urge to palm his face when he realized that the holocron had it all the time.

Still, he'd realized how much was on the holocron, and had to admit that he might've missed it for months unless he was looking for it. The stories, the history, and so many things that he'd never heard of before. He'd even double checked, the code and history buried deep beneath so many other stories that he'd been unable to see anything resembling what he'd been looking for. It was distressing.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he set his datapad to the side and sat up. "This is pointless."

Naruto shoved himself out of his bed, moving over to quickly wash his face. As his hands washed over his face, he froze, feeling something…wrong. His hands remained on his face, the warmth of the world around him becoming a chill that washed over him. Slowly lowering them, his eyes raised upwards to stare into the mirror.

The face that stared back at him was not his own. The face shadowed by the darkness, likely due to the fact he hadn't flipped on the light when he'd come into the fresher. Whatever stared back at him had spikes on its head; hair or horns, he couldn't tell. They were wrapped in what appeared to be a cloak with a high collar on it, and with something glowing just beneath that he couldn't make out. The most striking feature though, was his eyes. Those eyes, completely violet, triangular eyes with a ripple-like design that centered on his pupil.

"Go home."

And then it was gone. With a blink of his eyes, his reflection was once more his own, looking back with an lost and startled look in his eyes. Shaking his head, he frowned and turned away from the mirror. "Okay, that's weird."

As he stepped out of the room, he stepped back and smacked into the door as he saw the same figure, hovering in front of his bed. Those eyes, piercing and staring into him. There was a sudden aura that filled his room, both oppressive and yet…there was something comforting behind those eyes. Protective, and stern. The man's arm slowly raised, and Naruto yelped as he felt something in the back of his mind shouting in surprise as well.

"Go home."

"Kyuubi? What –"

"_How?!"_

"Go home. _Now._"

Naruto blinked and flinched as the figure vanished again, but it left a very lasting impression in the room. There was a distinct heaviness that now weighed on his shoulders; physically and mentally. He could hear something in the back of his mind, but then quickly it was locked out. Whatever had just happened, it seemed to have both bough the Kyuubi out of hiding, and then gave it cause to shove itself as far from Naruto as possible.

He winced, staring at the air again. Who was that? The man hadn't seemed like any Jedi master he'd ever known, and the more he tried to think about the master, the more the Force told him to be wary.

"Go…home?" Naruto flinched as the words slipped past his lips. They felt strange. Of all of the things he ever said, home was not a word he'd ever thought to use. It wasn't a place that Jedi had; the Temple was nice, but from what he understood of a home he was pretty sure that people didn't feel anxiety or fear while walking its halls.

So what did he mean?

Nar Shaddaa was quickly pushed away. He wasn't about to go there after the last time he was there. Getting chased by bounty hunters wasn't his idea of home. There was Naboo, but while it was a wonderful place he hadn't felt that it was home in the way he imagined. Alaris Prime was another one that was close, but it felt…closer. Now that he was imagining the world, there was something else that he was remembering.

Trees. He remembered the trees, but they were different. Wroshyr trees grew different than these in his memory. They weren't quite so tall, but the branches were thicker. And even though they stretched on for miles, he found himself remembering a settlement. No, a village. It was filled with people, humans, and –

Naruto froze, remembering the men with white faces who'd chased him and An'ya Kuro when she'd helped him leave to become a Jedi. The memory had been one that was liberating, exhilarating, and terrifying. He could remember it clear as day now, and yet with the memory came a pair of words he'd completely put out of his mind.

Turning to the door, he made his way to his master's room. His steps were fast, a bit frantic as he moved through the area. He didn't want to cause a stir, and while it was making him anxious, he tried to push it back so that he could focus. The Force was whirling around him chaotically, he reached out as best he could to try and keep it from letting everyone and anyone know about what was going on in his head.

"Nawuto?"

Naruto paused, eyes snapping to his fellow padawan in confusion. "Sheeka? What are you doing here?"

Looking to her, he was torn between grinning and falling over in exasperation. He just wanted to get through the building to his master, to try and get this off of his chest and out of his mind. Still, he had time for friends, and after almost half a year apart he could spend a moment or two with them.

"I just got back fwom a mission, and heawd you were back." She looked rather proud of herself, her lightsaber attached to her hip as it swung almost proudly with her steps. From the way she moved now, it was clear that her steps were smoother, more precise than the occasionally hesitant movements she once had. Her eyes gleamed with a hint of some edge that she clearly didn't want to hide. She almost looked like she wanted to unclip her lightsaber right there and begin showing what she'd learned, but her patience won out. "I also heawd you were huwt on your wast mission and was going to come see how you were doing. Looks wike their stowies were somewhat exaduwated."

"Huh? Oh, um." Naruto shrugged, the slight aches still there, but much number after the bacta treatment. "I've always been a fast healer. You know that."

"Yeah. It makes you a pain to fight if you get away." Sheeka rolled her eyes, remembering one time when he'd slipped away in the middle of a duel and returned with a renewed vigor that had almost knocked her over. Where he found that second wind so often, she didn't know. "So, what have you been doing?"

"Well~" Naruto grinned motioning for her to follow him.

The two of them walked towards one of the meditation room, Naruto talking about his mission to Alaris Prime happily as they went. Sheeka walked next to him listening attentively. She'd already heard about Naboo, and as epic as Nar Shaddaa was, he didn't know if he wanted to tell others just yet.

Seeing her reaction to the droids, as well as discussing the holocron he'd found, he was silently thankful that he hadn't continue to run from her and his other friends on Illum. He'd been in a bad state then, but then he wasn't in a much better one now. It hurt him to feel he couldn't trust all of those around him, and it reminded him of what had been said to him earlier.

As they ducked into the meditation room, Naruto glanced to her grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, I've been talking up a storm here. What about you? How's training with Feemor been going?"

"It's been good." Sheeka said, sighing softly before shrugging. "We were sent to go talk to the Techo Union about something or another. Master Feemor spent most of the time talking to them, and I just twied to follow along. There was something about a higher intelligence A.I. or something."

"…droids?"

"Dwoids."

"I hate droids."

"I know." Sheeka giggled. "The onwy way I got thwough the whole thing because I imagined how you would act. Fwailing awound like a mynock let loose in a shipyawd."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ bad." Naruto huffed and looked away. "I've gotten better…punching a hole in several droids chest will do that."

Sheeka blinked at that, recalling that Naruto had mentioned it. "Yeah, how'd you do that? Dwoids are kinda, you know, made of duwasteel."

"Well…" Naruto flexed his hand slowly. Concentrating on letting the Force flow through him in a similar way to how it had on Alaris Prime. A faint blue glow encompassed his hand, bringing a frown to his face. "Huh, that's weird. I thought it was supposed to be red, not blue."

"Wed?"

"Yeah. When I punched through the droids, my hand was red. But it's blue now."

Sheeka hummed softly trying to understand. "What's the difference?"

"Well, it's…it's weird." Naruto muttered, focusing on the faint glow until it became intense and visible enough for Sheeka to see. "When I reach out with the Force, I sometimes try to visualize things in a way that helps explain what I see to people who can't sense the Force. And since things kind of feel like…colors, I sometimes think of them when I'm describing them to myself."

"Colors? Like how you said blue and red?"

"Yeah." Naruto sighed, rubbing his head as he realized that he wanted to tell Sheeka the full extent. That meant he would have to tell at least one thing about Nar Shaddaa. One, very dangerous thing. "Sheeka, can I…" Naruto shook his head. "Never mind. I –"

Before he could finish, Sheeka reached forwards jabbed Naruto in his chest. "No, don't do that. Don't do that dumb thing again." Holding up a finger in front of his face to silence him. "Stop. Just…tell me what's going on. Pwease."

Naruto remained silent until her hand lowered. Staring at her silently, he finally held his glowing hand in front of her. "Do you see what color this is? Or…do you feel what color this is?"

"…" Sheeka slowly reached out with the Force, sensing what he'd done with the Force in his hand. "It's bwue, like you said. But, why is that a big deal?"

"Because on Alaris Prime, there was a moment where I used the Force, and it was red." Naruto stared at her, then finally sighed as he gave in. "And during my training trip, I tried to reach out to that 'red Force' because I thought I was going to die. When I did that though, I brought out something else. Something that felt…yellow."

"What?" Sheeka shook her head with a frown. "The Force isn't made up of all those colows…is it?"

"I'm just telling you what I felt. It was yellow, when I was trying to get red, and when I just use the Force calmly it's blue." Naruto rubbed his forehead. "I thought the Force was supposed to be dark side and light side, not all up and down the color spectrum!"

Sheeka rubbed her forehead, shaking her head in exasperation. "I'll say. How in the world did you have all that happen to you?"

"I don't _know_, things just happened!" Naruto glanced up to her. She didn't ask what had happened when he'd used the yellow Force. Maybe, she just was happy to have him tell her what was going on with him.

"Well, how about we meditate on it then?" Sheeka said after a moment's thought.

"I have been meditating. I've been doing alchaka, and saber practice, and –"

"No, I mean, _real_ meditating."

Naruto grimaced, silently displeased by the suggestion. "You know how hard it is for me to sit still."

"And maybe that's why it'll help." Sheeka shrugged. "If you haven't tried it, then maybe you should? Try it I mean. I can stay with you if you want."

"No, I'm…I'll be okay." Naruto recalled his visit to the Kyuubi, and wondered if the Kyuubi would interrupt his meditation. Not likely, since it hadn't reacted well to the apparition. Ghost? Being? Entity? He wasn't sure exactly what it was not that he thought about it.

After a few seconds, he suddenly sat upright as he realized Sheeka was staring at him worriedly. Shaking his hands dismissively, he chuckled nervously. "You just got back from a mission, and I don't want to keep you from getting some sleep. Besides, we can meditate later. Okay?"

"…I'm going to hold you to that." Sheeka playfully hit his shoulder.

Naruto laughed softly, rubbing his shoulder as though her hit had hurt. She wasn't the sort of person to intentionally harm someone though. "Don't worry, I promise."

"Good!" She stood up, placing her hands on her his with a resolved nod. "Now I know that we'll meditate later. I don't mind waiting, just don't let me wait for too long. Okay?"

"Yes mam." Naruto said with as large a grin as he could muster. As Sheeka left the room, the grin broke and Naruto closed his eyes. "I just hope I don't start losing my mind before we get there."

He stayed seated for a moment. Then, recalling what had happened earlier once more, he pushed himself to his feet and made his way towards his master's room.

It took just another couple minutes to get to her room. He wondered if she was even awake, but regardless, he felt he had little other choice. Raising his hand slowly, he firmly knocked on her door and waited.

Naruto blinked as the door opened, An'ya Kuro looking down at him with a tired look, but also…expectantly? Had she been waiting for him to show up? Why? How had – "The Force told you to wait for something didn't it?"

"You catch on quick." She smiled, and stepped back to usher into him into the room. "Come, tell me what's on your mind."

He stared for a moment, but slowly followed her direction to enter. Her room was bare, with few things that could be considered possessions placed orderly in her room. Mostly it was clothing, cloaks, and a few supplies that were meant to be clipped to her belt. On a small shelf was a set of holocrons, though from the look of one it was something she herself was writing. He mentally called first look at it, though he didn't want to seem pushy for saying so until it was closer to being done.

Naruto didn't see any chairs, so he climbed onto her bed and sat cross legged. She soon followed, though she just sat at the edge, looking to him as she waited for a moment. He stared back, the image of the man flashing in his mind again.

"_Go home. Now."_

"Master, do you believe in ghosts?"

It was a good thing that she didn't have any expectations, as the question – rather than seeming ridiculous – was taken in stride. "I don't believe in ghosts, in the paranormal pretense. There are not beings that cling to the realm of the living."

"But, the code says –"

"There is _no_ death, there is the Force." An'ya shook her head, eyes closed. "That means that there are no ghosts, or beings of otherworldly power. There are only entities who have become one with the Force. People with whom the Force and their very being are no longer separated."

Naruto nodded, looking very worried as he tried to find the words for what he wanted to say. "I…saw something."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"I don't know. But he spoke to me. He…told me to go home."

"Go home?" An'ya frowned at that, looking from Naruto to the room around her. "I suppose that not everyone finds this place to have a homely feeling with everyone else walking around the building."

Naruto didn't know what to say to that. However, he spoke two words. "Home world."

An'ya flinched at the words. Turning to Naruto, she stared at him with an expressionless look. "Do you truly believe that's what he meant?"

"Yeah. I mean, he was kind of insistent." Naruto shook his head. "I mean, he said it three times, and he made my room feel really…heavy."

"Heavy?"

"Like it didn't want me to stay here. It wants me to move on. To go on somewhere."

"And you think that if you follow this person, you'll…what?" An'ya asked, trying to understand Naruto's thoughts.

Naruto frowned. He hadn't thought about that. What _did_ he want? He knew the Kyuubi wasn't happy, and he'd felt something familiar between him and the being. "I don't know."

"But you are certain this being of the Force wanted you to return to your home world?"

"Yes. I think so? I guess." Naruto said softly, suddenly feeling less confident in himself. Why would the Force want him to go back? "If I don't, I don't know if I'll have another chance."

"Naruto, you know that your home world was in the Maw? Black holes that may crush us if we decide to attempt such a thing. Are you willing to risk yourself, and your future, to follow this path?"

Once again, he could feel his confidence slipping. Did he want to do this? He was willing. No obstacle that stood before him couldn't stand before him if he put his mind to it. But the Maw was a force of nature, something that he couldn't train against and defeat the way he could with other people. If he went into the Maw, he might never return. And yet, "Yes."

He would go. He would risk it, and he'd win.

"I see." An'ya slowly placed a hand on his shoulder, her expression not changing as she sighed. "Go to sleep. I need to meditate on this."

"But it's not your choice." Naruto frowned. "I _have_ to go back. I –"

"Naruto." Her voice was firm, insistent, and forced him to shrink in on himself from the tone. "Just…trust me. I understand that you feel this way, but I will _not_ allow you to go until I've meditated on these things. Understand?"

"Yes master."

"Good. Now go. I'll meet you in the morning so that we can finish our discussing things then." She pushed him back, shaking her head as she sighed.

Naruto frowned, but slunk out of her room. He didn't like that she'd wanted to wait, but he had no choice. Padawan's had limited access to the deeper sections of the temple, including the hanger bay. Groaning, he walked forwards and pressed his forehead against the wall. He had a long night of thinking, and…no, he didn't want to go back into his room. Walking back into the nearby meditation room, he sat against the wall, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

x-=-x

An'ya Kuro frowned in her meditation, staring into space as she tried to focus on the Force. After Naruto had arrived though, she was once more presented with several choices. They were oddly not based off an immediate choice though, but rather on the choice regardless.

One option was to stay here, and as she meditated on it she found that it was a safe option. Deny him from going home, from getting close to the Maw, and allow him a chance to continue training as a normal Jedi. She tried to delve deeper into it, but at a certain point it seemed to fade away when some option was placed before Naruto by someone that would rely on her choice now.

The other was to go back to the Maw. To his home world, to the military based planet that she'd taken him from when the Force had told her to. However, those words had been so brief that she'd nearly forgotten them, and had to delve deeper into her memory. When she brought it up though, she found herself frowning, almost scowling at the memory.

_He must not remain here for long._

Those words felt different now that she brought it up. When she'd first heard them, she'd thought that they were simple, straightforward, and it was easy to follow them. Now, as she heard them a second time, she realized that the words might very well apply again. That he could go and experience something on his world, but that at the end of the day there was something on the planet that the Force wanted him to avoid. One of the main issues with that choice though, was that she didn't know how long they _could_ stay; or how long the Maw would allow them to remain before closing on them, if it was currently open.

Yet, if someone had come to Naruto and told him to return, then the Force would guide them. It would guide her regardless of her choice. It would watch over them and help them. And so, taking a deep breath, she made her choice.

As the sun peaked over the city skyline, she left the room and looked for Naruto. It took a little bit, as he wasn't in his room as she'd thought, but after some looking she finally asked a few other masters who pointed her to the meditation room. Upon finding him, she stopped and stayed at the doorway as she looked in with a frown as she thought over her choice again.

This wouldn't be easy. While making the decision was easy, there were times when the council was less than helpful about allowing masters to go on personal missions with their padawans. Of course, there was another option. It was a bit more convoluted, and was technically a loophole, but then it was also the easiest option presented to them. And as she reviewed it again though, she pressed her lips together with a frown before nodding to herself.

Moving up to Naruto, she gently brushed his hair to help awaken him. Naruto stirred, muttering softly as his eyes slowly tried to focus on the world around him. "What…"

"Go prepare a set of equipment. Grab only the necessities, and I'll meet you outside the hanger." She pulled him to his feet, gently motioning to the door for him to go. Naruto stumbled forwards, looking somewhat confused as he blindly began heading back to his room. Watching him go, she took a small breath before heading in the opposite direction; towards the Jedi Council room.

Her part in this, was going to be far more difficult.

* * *

><p>AN: And now we begin our trip. But first, I needed a certain someone to "politely ask" Naruto to come back to Ibonihs. Who is this mysterious figure? …I dunno (I'm not going to spoil it but it might be obvious).<p>

Oh, also! I forgot to mention this before, but I do _not_ bash characters for their flaws. If they're stupid, it'll show in what they do, but there are no characters who actually have 100% flaws and no redeeming features. Some, like Sasuke, only have it pre-shippuden (post-shippuden is a pain in the butt). However, there _will_ be several…interesting interactions. Let's just say that whatever you're expecting…well, let's just say I'm going to be having _fun_ with this next bit.

Now for some Q&A!

**war sage**: *laughs rancorously*Oh, it's gonna be _fun._

**LordGhostStriker**: *points to Sidious and Plagueis above* That's another reason why. In fact, there's a small part of what they said that's _really_ important. But I doubt I'll be fully seen until Ibonihs. Ibonihs holds so many answers that will leave me laughing manically in the best of ways.

**l3loodKnight**: Ah, I've waited for this question. The answer to it is; yes. There will be a couple of time skips to help move the story along, but only when all the important information has been gone over. As such, there will be a time skip at the end of the Ibonihs portion. And when I get to that point…whew boy, do I have some stuff to say at that point. You'll see.

**Nightlance44**: A lot of excellent questions! Unfortunately, they're also meant to be left to discussion until I reveal them later, so keep them in mind and keep asking them, because those decisions will be there for quite a while.

That's all the questions, so until next time, I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness**!


	44. Chapter 44

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>An'ya sighed as she stopped halfway to the council room. Rubbing her forehead tiredly, she grumbled softly as she realized the mistake she made. The council was known for gathering quickly, and for taking care of many issues; however, they didn't do it at every moment of each day. They did have other things that they'd do from hobbies to training.<p>

Turning to walk away, she paused when she noticed someone floating through the halls. "Master Yoda."

"Mm? Good to see you it is." Yoda said, looking pleasantly surprised to see her. Floating on his personal transport, he bowed slightly to her.

"It's good to see you as well master." She said quickly, bowing back to him. "I was hoping that I'd be able to speak with you, if I can have a moment of your time."

"A moment, and more you may have." Yoda said with a chuckle. As he turned to float next to her, he hummed softly. "Much on your mind you have. Questions you have that I can assist with?"

Walking next to him, she thought over her words carefully. "Naruto had a vision of him returning to his home world. It…worried him."

"The future one must be wary of. Distracts from the moment it does." Yoda said, knowing that An'ya already knew these things.

"Master, you know of his weaknesses." She said quickly, frowning as Yoda nodded with a sigh. "The future has always been something of a difficult thing for him, and with his home world being locked away I'm worried that if we don't at least check, we'll miss the opportunity."

Yoda hummed softly, tapping his clawed hands on his knee slowly. "Worried you are that he may not get the opportunity to return?"

"Yes." She said with a nod. "I understand the nature of seeing the future as much as you do. It's not set in stone, and often times the Force doesn't show us everything."

"Hm." Yoda's ears slowly fell as he thought things over. "Troubled I am, by this vision. Certain you were that his home world he saw?"

"Yes master. He…" She paused. "He seemed quite certain. I know that there are times when visions occur and the outcome is not what one seems, but…" She sighed, coming to a stop in the middle of the hall. "He came to me about this master."

Yoda hovered around in front of her, wise eyes having a soft, grandfatherly gleam to them. "Wish to acknowledge his trust you do?"

An'ya had spoken to Yoda about Naruto in passing, allowing the diminished master to know how he was progressing. He'd given his thoughts on different matters regarding him, and had been one of those who kept an open mind when she'd discussed the darkness she'd discovered coming from Naruto. They'd seen what became of those who fell to the dark side, and neither of them wished to see Jedi fall to that path. He had also been one in whom she could confide her silent frustration with how aloof he'd sometimes seemed whenever she had a few moments to speak with him. When she'd spoken with him on Alaris Prime, it had been a large stepping point between them. And now Naruto was trusting her with something that some masters had thought as very personal to individuals.

"Yes master. And…I think that what I felt before may have something to do with his home world. It was nothing like Xanatos presence in the Force, and I was able to see them side by side." Shaking her head, she looked Yoda in the eye with a worried expression. "We know a small bit about him, but he's…not fully human. He's close, but there are differences. Also…"

She pulled out the datapad Naruto had given her with his medical discrepancies. Handing it to him, she sighed softly. "The changes in his internal physical makeup shouldn't be possible. The list is written plainly there, but I'll let you read it yourself."

Yoda nodded, taking the datapad carefully and placed it in his lap for later review. "And, perhaps, you believe a trip to his home world, informative it will be?"

"I hope so master." She said firmly, crossing her arms with a resolved look in her eyes. "And if it isn't, then there will be something there to teach Naruto. I don't know what, but the Force does."

"Great faith you have in the Force." Yoda's eyes dropped, and he seemed to understand what An'ya was silently implying; if he didn't give her permission, she'd find a way to get there one way or another. He could either have her go with his blessing, or know that she simply left and possibly endanger future Jedi should they send someone to search for her.

With a remorseful sigh, he looked up to her with a firm look. Defiant or not, she would know that in doing so she did not have his full approval. "Return to his home world you may. But, careful you must be. Uncertain his future is, filled with many twists and turns. A shadow I sense over young Uzumaki. Take great care."

"Thank you master." She said with a bow before looking back up to him with a sad smile. "May the Force be with you."

"Know what you're doing, I hope you do. May the Force be with you." Yoda said, moving to the side as he let her past him.

Watching her leave, Yoda tapped the datapad casually as his eyes didn't leave her. He had dealt with many different kinds of students with a wide variety of temperaments. Often times the lessons that taught them the most were from the mistakes they made. However, the only reason he felt even tentatively alright with her idea was that Naruto would be under the careful supervision of his master who would help guide him.

Still, he couldn't help the unsettling feeling in the back of his mind that made him anxious. Quietly, he hoped that the boy who returned from their journey would be at the very least similar to the one who left for it.

x-=-x

_Several days later: Outside the Maw_

An'ya stared at Naruto, unsure what to think as she watched the young man stare into the abyss. She knew that he could feel the path that lead to his home, wide open, but it was his hands at the controls. Sighing softly, she leaned back and watched him.

See wanted him to trust his instincts, trust the Force, and understand that she trusted him. He was afraid of her, but that didn't mean she didn't trust him. She wanted to see him succeed. But he was afraid.

"How are you feeling Naruto?" An'ya said softly, watching as he left his hands loosely against the ship's yolk. He didn't know too much about flying a ship, but then this required the Force to navigate rather than the equipment.

"…I don't see anything." Naruto said softly, trying to stare into the black hole. The endless abyss was something that could drive a being mad, and this wasn't any different. "Is there really my home world in the middle of that? I can't even see the stars beyond there."

"Have you reached out to it?" It was meant as a question, but her own knowledge of the Force and willingness to reach out the moment she felt she needed its assistance made it sound a bit frustrated that he hadn't already reached out with the Force.

"No." Naruto frowned, gripping the yolk for a second before slowly moving to the controls to move it forwards. Closing his eyes, he began to lose himself to the Force as he began piloting them into the Maw.

It was risky, she knew, letting him be the one to lead them into the Maw. However, it also wasn't her who'd been drawn to come to this place in the first place. She felt it would be wrong if she took any part of what he was meant to experience; entering the Maw included. She did make sure to keep her eye on the path, to ensure that he didn't lead them into a black hole. Last thing they needed was to enter one of them and wind up either crushed or whatever else may happen to them if they entered one.

It took them quite a while before a change in their surrounding occurs. The area became rather quickly illuminated, the light that was absorbed into the darkness finally breaking through as they finally entered the pocket area that held Naruto's home world. As they drew closer, Naruto's eyes slowly opened as he stared out of the viewpoint and got his first view of his home world.

He remembered what had happened the last time he was here, when he'd been chased into one of the cupboards by the medical droid. As such, he'd missed the fleeting image of his home world after they'd left his home. Staring at it now, he found himself breathing with a sigh as he took it in.

"It reminds me of Alaris Prime." Naruto muttered, laughing softly to himself as he shook his head. It wasn't quite as green as Alaris Prime, but with all of the water and other colors that shaped the world it was unique in its own way. "So, that's my home?"

"If that's how you want to call it." An'ya said softly, noting that he was shaking slightly. "Naruto? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Naruto lied, trying not to focus on the feeling as he approached the planet.

As he passed the moon, he flinched and glanced to it, feeling something dark and familiar coming from it. Whatever it was, he didn't like it, and he began shifting the Force around himself protectively.

"Relax Naruto. It can't hurt you." An'ya said, trying to help ease his nerves.

Naruto shook his head, trying to focus on flying the ship. He became so focused on it that he missed when An'ya shifted them back to her control. While he'd done well in his short moment piloting them in, he didn't know how to land a ship; she'd have to teach him as soon as they had the opportunity.

As they approached the planet, she stayed as high as she could while looking down to the areas below them. Part of her wanted to go straight into the forest to land her ship, however she recalled that his home town was a military established city. While that didn't mean they necessarily recalled her, they had known enough that she'd left with Naruto shortly after they'd left. That meant that, were they a competent military like she believed, they would have increased surveillance in the forest. The last thing she wanted was for her ship to be found.

Looking around the edges, she eventually found a spot she liked and took the ship in. "Naruto, get ready. It'll be a bit of a walk, but it'll be safer for the both of us, alright?"

Naruto nodded, doing as she said. Pushing himself up a bit, he grimaced as he realized where she was setting them down. "A desert?"

"It's better than the other options. With the desert, at the very least no one will be stumbling on it intentionally. And even then," She pointed to the area she had found; a very curiously created crevice that curved menacingly towards the top. "We'll land in there. It'll make it harder still to find by covering it."

"Seems like a lot of work to keep our ship hidden." Naruto muttered.

"It's either that or someone flies off with it straight into the Maw." She said with a frown. "As much as I'm willing to help you here Naruto, I do need your help as well. This isn't something I can do alone."

"I know master, I just…" Naruto stared at the planet, leaning back in his seat as he sighed. "This is my home world…and I just don't know what to think of it so far."

She paused for a second before quickly putting the ship down in the crevice. Turning to Naruto, she shook her head. "You've only come back for a few moments. Give yourself time, and let yourself be guided by the Force. Whatever reason you were brought here, it will help lead you to it when you're ready to receive it."

"…yes master." Naruto said softly, rubbing his forehead as he reached out with the Force. There was something out there, elusive, and dangerous. He couldn't tell what or where it was, but it sent a small chill down his spine.

"Good. Now, come on, I need your help covering our ship."

x-=-x

It took them over an hour to carefully move the sand the way they wanted, but in the end their ship was hidden beneath the sands in a way that it'd be difficult for anyone who wasn't aware of its presence to know it was there. Pulling their cloaks around them, they began walking in the direction of the forest, An'ya leading the way as Naruto knew nothing about the world outside his village. It was rather strange, that the place they began at would also be one of the mysterious and unfamiliar ones.

As they walked, An'ya found a few things somewhat strange to her. The last time she'd been here, the Force had advised her to keep her lightsaber and several other bits of technology in the ship to keep them from being found even accidentally. Now though, it told her to hold onto it; hidden, but kept close to her person. Naruto had his slipped onto the back of his belt, behind a small pouch that he'd strapped there with a few miscellaneous items.

Silently, she allowed her mind to wander, trying to understand the Force's purpose behind such a change. The shift worried her. She knew that the Force never did anything without a reason, but those reasons often took time for her to understand. Considering they were going to a military village, the idea that they may need to fight back wasn't one that she was looking forwards to.

Next to her, Naruto was sweltering beneath the heat of the sun. He'd not been on many intense environmental planets, though Nar Shaddaa wasn't not intense in the same way that this was. Thankfully, it wasn't that bad, as there were planets that were far more intense. That being said, Naruto called on the Force to try and help keep him at least a little bit cool as walked.

It was almost two hours before they even saw the tree line, but as soon as they saw it Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, I thought here wouldn't be shade forever."

Naruto jogged forwards, An'ya walking at a more brisk pace behind. As they'd begun getting closer, she'd felt something coming their way. It wasn't something big, but it was a feeling not unlike the one she'd felt on Nar Shadda and Alaris Prime. A dark, bleak feeling in the Force, that was nearing their position almost as quickly as Naruto was trying to head to the forest.

She barely had a second to think about that before she froze and glanced back. There wasn't anything she could see, but that feeling had suddenly increased a great deal to the point of bloodlust. Were they close? Perhaps, but she couldn't see them.

It took a few moments before Naruto noticed that she had stopped, and by then he was a ways away. Glancing back, Naruto tried to see what his master saw. "What is it?"

"…I don't know." She whispered softly.

They looked around for another moment, trying to see anything out of place. Right as Naruto was about to turn around, the Force almost seemed to scream in his mind to jump away. Gathering the Force within him as quickly as possible, he launched himself back with a startled yelp. Almost as soon as he did so, the sand beneath his feet launched upwards and attempted to coil around where Naruto had once been. While Naruto scrambled to his feet, the sand crashed in his direction, as though it was seeking him out.

Naruto grit his teeth and dodged to the side, rushing as quickly as he could away from the sand. "Master Kuro! Something's wrong with the sand!"

An'ya narrowed her eyes, staring at the sand that was attacking him as she reached out with the Force. Something was controlling it, using…the Force to do so? No, that couldn't be it. It was an energy field, but the Force did not seem to speak from the sand as it was moved the way some objects did when they were moved by the Force. If anything, it was trying to strain against her Force Grip.

Feeling a similar feeling to the one that Naruto had felt before, she withdrew her arm and leapt backwards. Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw a being drop in front of her. Then, the area where she'd been standing suddenly burst as an unseen blade created a divide in the sand at his feet. Ducking to the side, she felt a wave of air brush past her, a ripple of air just barely missing her.

The man was a strange looking man. The man was rather tall, dressed in a grey flak jacket with extending shoulder pads, black clothing, and toeless sandals. His head wrapped in cloth with the left side of his face covered, and a metal plate over his forehead with an hourglass shape on it. Not someone from Naruto's village, but likely with similar origins; a military based village.

Her eyes widened when she felt he placed his hands together and began gesturing strangely in a foreign way, that she'd heard about in holocrons before. "Not possible..."

Gritting her teeth, she gathered the Force around her and quickly dodged away from the man, barely able to sense where the ripple was before it ripped through the air behind her. She wasn't certain as to what the man was doing, or how he was doing it, but she was getting several ideas now that she was watching him.

She'd watch, and dodge for now. There was too much she didn't know or understand, and she didn't want to go back to Naruto's home village without getting a bit more information. And this man…there was something about his techniques that worried her.

Meanwhile, Naruto was having even less of a good time. He was ducking, dodging, and weaving through the sand as he tried desperately to keep from getting caught in it. It was something of a blessing that whatever was happening to the sand didn't seem to be affecting all of the sand, just the darker sand that was trying to catch him. He was tempted to pull out his lightsaber, but he didn't have the opportunity as every time his hand moved back to it, the sand shot towards his arms.

Sand didn't have senses. It couldn't have known that he was reaching for a weapon, unless the sand on this world was different. That meant there was something else nearby that was…using the sand? He'd never even considered such an option before. How could something control sand?

Darting to the side again, he flinched when the sand latched around his leg. Whipped into the air, he yelped as he was flung through the air off to the side, further away from An'ya. Shaking his head, he paused as he saw three individuals – younger than the man fighting his master – off to the side.

Two were standing and watching him carefully, while the third was squatting down. The boy who was squatting down looked rather ridiculous, wearing a completely black outfit in the middle of the desert with some kind of pointed ear-like protrusions on the top, a strange large bundle carried on his back, and some kind of ceremonial paint on his face. Maybe he was some sort of other species? That might actually be interesting.

The other two were a boy and age girl. The girl was a blond haired woman wore her hair up in four ponytails; something that he'd never seen before as far as he could remember. She was wearing a long sleeved purple shirt that's sleeves were rolled up a bit, that extended down into a skirt, and a strange metal plate tied around her neck. She had a red ribbon tied around her waist, and like the other boy's had a large object on her back though hers was made of metal.

The final boy was a red head, with teal eyes which lacked a pupil and had a dark ring around them, and it seemed he was glaring into him. He had on a dark red vest over a black short sleeved shirt, with a white sash that went from his right shoulder to his left hip. Like the girl next to him, the sash had a metal plate in the middle of it, and was connected to a large object; a large gourd on his back that had sand coming out of it.

"_Sand?"_ Naruto internally asked, before his eyes widened. "Oh poodoo."

Rolling to his feet, he scrambled away from the boy only to skid to a halt a second later as the sand in front of him rose up into a wall. Running down its length, he winced as another wall of rising sand rose up in front of him. Gathering the Force to his legs, he launched himself upwards and over the sand with a Force Leap in an attempt to get out of the sand trap.

Almost as soon as he did so, he realized that wasn't the best idea for him to try. The sand beneath him apparently didn't have a set limit on how high up it could go, and almost as soon as his legs touched the ground a wave of sand slammed into him and knocked him off his feet. It weighed him down, forcing him face first into the ground as he was consumed in the sand.

Naruto flinched as she sand enveloped everything but his head, leaving his face for them to see as he was lifted into the air. Looking down at the three, it was all too clear who was in control of the sand. The red headed boy's palm was lifted towards him, directing him till he was just above them.

"Gaara, we really don't need to kill him." The other boy said, scowling up at Naruto. "He's hardly worth the effort."

"Mother wants blood…she's been hungry." The red head – Gaara – said with an expressionless look on his face. Naruto flinched as he reached out to the boy, feeling something distinctly off about him, and the sand around him. It was almost like –

"They're just some random travelers," The blond woman said. "We don't –"

"Shut up Temari." Gaara said, slowly lifting his hand towards Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened as he reached out with the Force and felt something rather familiar. His hand turned slowly, fingers stretched out as though he was grabbing Naruto from afar. "Sabaku –"

Naruto grit his teeth and concentrated on the Force, yelping as he teleported forwards so that he was out of his sand-made coffin. He was silently thankful that he'd learned to be able to use it even in stressful situations, though he still needed more practice to make the teleporting look cooler. Right now, it just looked like he disappeared in a yellow flash of light before reappearing in a second flash of light.

"Kyuu! (Desert Coffin)"

There was a grinding crunch as the grains of the sand slammed into each other in a violent crunch. Naruto glanced back to the sand, eyes widening in shock as it collapsed inwards. While it would have regardless since he wasn't in it, the speed and force of it implied that Gaara had changed something. It had been _intended _to kill him. When he looked back to the three, the girl – Temari if he remembered what Gaara had called her – and the boy gawking openly at him. Gaara just stared at him, looking confused and angry about his escaping his trap.

"Wait, what?" Temari asked, stepping back as she stared at Naruto.

Naruto almost couldn't help himself as he jabbed a finger at Gaara. "You're crazy."

Gaara just stared, no readable expression on his face. Naruto took that as his cue to leave, and turned on his heel to run away. He heard a shot from behind him, but he wasn't interested in that. He wanted to be as far away from the sand as he could get.

Looking up to his master, he flinched as he watched her dodge and weave through the rippling air as the other man tried to…do something to her. He could see a few cuts in her clothing, but he couldn't see any sort of vibroblade or other such weapon to hurt her with. "Master!"

The man glanced to Naruto, scowling at him. Naruto proved to be a good distraction, as An'ya took that moment of distraction to slam her hand forwards with a Force Push to launch the man away from her. Turning on her heel, she too began running away from the group, and into the forest as quickly as they could.

While the four of them could have easily followed, Temari and the other boy stayed where they were, as Gaara had placed a barrier of sand between them and their fleeing foes. One of his hands was pressed over one of his eyes, and the corners of his lips were slightly turned upwards. This second fact was what froze the two in place, as Gaara smiling was…not a good thing.

"Mother…says to wait." He whispered, looking up with near-bloodshot eyes as he laughed softly. "We'll meet him again. We just need to keep going forwards."

"Gaara?" Temari asked, stepping forwards uncertainly. As Gaara reached out a hand as though to envelop her in a coffin of sand she flinched, but relaxed a second later when he drew in the sand to form a cork for his gourd and the rest of his sand slipped within it. "Gaara what are you talking about?"

"What do you think you're doing Gaara?" The older man said, stepping forwards with a scowl.

"They were in the way." Gaara said simply, crossing his arms as he glared up at him. "Now they aren't. Besides, if we stop to fight everyone we meet, then we'll be late. And they…they are heading that way as well."

"It was you who initiated the fight Gaara." He said with a scowl. "Remember your purpose here boy. Wildly lashing out before we even get to Konoha will earn you no favor with your father."

"I don't care about that fool." Gaara scoffed, walking away from the man. "I simply want to find that boy again. The one who escaped Mother's embrace."

The other man glanced to the other two, causing them to flinch. He could see the fear, confusion, and uncertainty on their faces, but at least with them he knew where he stood. Shaking his head, he too turned back to the forest. "Fine. We'll continue our journey to Konoha. Gaara, I expect you to control yourself."

Gaara didn't acknowledge his words, but he knew he heard. He always heard, he just tended to ignore the man's words. It was a troublesome thing to deal with, but they would manage. They needed him to manage, as if he didn't, then the whole plan would be a waste. For the betterment and strengthening of Sunagakure, they needed everything to go as planned.

x-=-x

In the forest, An'ya and Naruto rushed as quickly as they could. Were either of them in top form they might've tried to continue, but after hours of traveling into the Maw, and the time spent covering the ship, they were a bit more exhausted than either of them would openly be willing to admit. Calling on the Force for a second wind, they pushed themselves as fast as they could, using the trees as cover as often as they could in an attempt to keep themselves out of sight. While both of them were silently grateful to be out of the sand now that they had realized that they realized the sand was more dangerous than they had originally realized.

Pushing their speed to the fastest they could possibly go, they kept their senses open and eyes forward. Neither of them understood the strange things the individuals had been doing, and it would be very untimely should they die now. Several hours on the planet, and already they were struggling with the unknown elements of the world that seemed to be bearing down on them now.

An'ya grimaced at what she'd seen and felt. Now she understood the feeling she'd felt when she'd found Naruto; it was coming from the people, as she'd expected. However, at that time it had been only a flicker, and while the dark side was strong on this world, there was something distinctly off about it. The only thing that helped prevent her from dismissing the Sith's presence on the world was the man.

He'd made hand signs.

While it was something only mentioned in the briefest texts, Jedi of the past had spoken of the Sith utilizing techniques in the Force that channeled the dark side through gestures and hand signs. No Jedi of the current age knew anything about how they actually worked or what those gestures looked like, but seeing the man forming them was enough proof for her to determine that these people had Sith origins.

Or, perhaps she was thinking about this wrong. The planet was within the Maw, so how could they have knowledge of the Sith? Perhaps the hand signs were simply something they had determined through trial and error? But if that was the case, what had inspired them?

"Master…"

She glanced to Naruto, noticing a look of revulsion on his face. He was shaking, and occasionally she finally noted that he was stumbling. Slowing down, she let him catch his breath. He stared at her, gritting his teeth as he tried to come to some sort of peaceful mindset.

"He was going to kill me."

"I know Naruto. I saw." She said, stepping forward slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that they were capable of such things."

"Master…" Naruto's eyes lifted slowly, eyes looking desperate and confused. "He was orange."

"…what?"

"His presence in the Force." He said, clenching his hand slowly. "I reached out to him, and he…if I had to call it a color, I'd call it orange. I've felt blue, yellow, red…but orange –"

An'ya placed a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his delirium. "Naruto, what are you talking about? The force is the light side and the dark side. What's this about colors?"

Naruto looked at her, his jaw clenched slightly. She seemed to be worried about him, yet the first thing she'd done was discredit what he'd been trying to say. Dropping his head, he brushed her hand off and began walking away. "It's nothing. Just me being stupid."

"Naruto. Wait." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder again. "What were you talking about?"

"…it's nothing."

"Naruto don't –"

"It's _nothing_ okay?"

"No. It's not okay."

Naruto glanced back at her, frowning as she tried to get a read on him. He was filled with so much anger – no, frustration. He was frustrated. Maybe he'd been expecting them to stay and fight? No, it wasn't that. His emotions were directed at her. "What do you care, you don't believe me."

She paused at those words. Didn't believe him? Why would he say that?

"Let's just…move. I don't want that Gaara guy coming after us." Naruto muttered, shaking her grip on his shoulder and launched himself as fast as he could go.

Watching him go, it was like watching him run from her. The feeling wasn't what she'd expected. She didn't have attachments, yet watching him run from her felt like he was leaving her, ignoring her desire to help him and pushing her to the side. It…hurt.

Shaking her head, she followed him at a slightly slower pace. This world seemed to be having an adverse effect on them both already, and it would likely only get worse the longer they were there. Yet, her old training methods fell almost immediately after she thought this. He needed to come to her, or seek guidance from the Force. Stepping in now might hurt their standings with one another, and make it harder for her to help him.

Even as she thought that though, she knew he was a stubborn boy. Regardless of even the Force, there was a likelihood that she would have to step in. And on that day, she hoped that she knew the right things to say.

* * *

><p>AN: Back to your home world with you Naruto! …and, as per the norm, there is no rest for the Jedi. And who better to say 'hello' than our favorite still-psychotic sand friend Gaara? *evil laughter*<p>

Ah, that felt good. Speaking of which, to all of you who are yelling about Naruto being a Sith or a Jedi or Grey – patience is a virtue for all of them. So, just relax and speculate. I have plenty of planks to smack upside Naruto's head. I mean plot, yes, totally…plot…

Anyways, Q&A time!

**l3loodKnight**: *laughs evilly at the plans for that particular meeting*

astral trinity: It's currently _over 9000_…so average for a Jedi currently. That being said, his skill with the Force is growing from day to day, and how much he can use also is increasing. Yes there will be some of that going on, but I'm going to keep it as basic as I can so that I don't end up on Ibonihs forever.

**MEleeSmasher**: I can't spoil any information on some of what you said with "yes or no", but I can say that Naruto will eventually wear armor. Why though…well, that comes later.

**Grocamol**: He's currently 12 at this point in time.

Guest: *twiddles thumbs and whistles at the first part of your question before moving on* The time skips will be mostly training type trips, though with a few other things that can be glossed over. Each mission that they've been on so far has had stuff that I want mentioned so that we don't move on to other things with you all just becoming confused. It takes longer, and is more wordy, but it gives you all a better grasp on the major and subtle changes that have been occurring.

**fresh prince1**: That is an excellent question. However…that's honestly up to debate on how much I need to describe. I'm anticipating fifteen to twenty, but don't quote me on that (there's a _lot _that's going to be going on).

**megatronus89**: Good question. However, that's not the case.


	45. Chapter 45

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

**LongreachJones**: Um…yeah, I think I did spoil you all. But I do occasionally have not enough time to write out a chapter, so it happens. Don't worry, I'm going to work on getting chapters out regularly, as per the usual save if something should happen. Anyways, here's the next chapter!

* * *

><p><em>2 Days Later: <em>_Konohagakure no Sato__ (The Village Hidden in the Leaves)_

Despite two days traveling together, with little else to do besides admire their surroundings and talk, they did very little of the second. Naruto was rather tight lipped, and An'ya wasn't pressing. Had either of them spoken anything about what had happened, the other likely would have gladly accepted their words and done what they could to help each other out. They were perhaps both so stubborn, and the moment they had struck each other neither wished to admit fault.

The travel through the rest of the forest was smooth, if only due to the fact that they both moved silently, and were stretching out their senses as far as they could to prevent from what happened with Gaara from happening again. In one of the very few times that the two of them spoke, An'ya was able to explain what little she knew. Mostly it was simply that the villagers were military in nature, they were signified by a metal plate, and they could be distinguished by the flak vest they wore. Naruto had then pointed out that Gaara, Temari, and the other boy hadn't worn the flak vest, and were around his age. That likely meant that those were more advanced wore the flak vest as a symbol of their authority and that they were in some way they were distinguish, rather than meaning they were simply part of the military. It also made them a bit nervous, as it meant that anyone could possibly be a military member, though the fact that they all wore the metal plate meant they could still distinguish them even without the vest.

As they approached the surprisingly well-worn path, they soon saw the high walls of the village ahead of them. Through the doors, they could see the village within, and the mountain behind. Much like before, An'ya laughed softly at the sight of the faces carved into the mountains. "I still use this as a reference whenever I'm trying to determine the arrogance of a being."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle lightheartedly. "Hey, if I save someone important, do you think they'll carve my face into the mountain?"

An'ya stared at Naruto before shaking her head. "You know better than that Naruto."

"Hey, the last time I did something awesome I got the chrome casing for my lightsaber." Naruto said with a grin, remembering his first mission they'd been on. Its familiar form was still pressed firmly against his lower back, though he was now wondering if that was such a good idea. In the fight with Gaara, he'd completely taken away his ability to get to it by simply attacking without giving him any space to do anything.

"Last time you did something you ended up needing to be rescued and…" An'ya stopped, looking at Naruto with a sigh. "You know I don't want that to happen to you don't you?"

Naruto looked at her, and for the first time in two days, she saw the familiar smile cross his face. "Yeah, I know."

Nodding to him, she was surprised as a smile of her own forming. It was nice to know that he was aware of her worries for him, and that at the very least he acknowledged it. That meant that the progress they'd made wasn't lost entirely, merely…buried. Buried beneath something she couldn't fully understand.

Turning back to the village, they approached it cautiously. Stopping at the edge, they saw two people seated at some sort of desk watching as other people came in. It seemed that there was some sort of checkpoint system, something that neither of them was certain of how to get past. They watched a small group of travelers enter, but watching them confused them. They gave some papers, but for what neither of them could tell.

"Maybe there's another way in?" Naruto asked curiously, scratching his head.

"Last time I was here, I landed behind the village, and entered from the mountain's top." An'ya frowned, looking up and down the village's wall. "It might be best to simply walk through the front gate, but if we don't have any paperwork, we won't be able to get in."

"And I can't use the mind trick, so –"

"I don't believe that we'd have any success with the mind trick as it is." An'ya said, eyeing the men warily. "If they have military training, it's possible that they could even resist the mind trick too."

Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Okay, so how are we going to do this?"

An'ya leaned back and began to meditate, trying to think about what they could do. Leaning on the intuition of the Force, she moved down the wall to the right, eyeing it warily. She didn't like the feeling she was getting, as there was no place that felt right to her. The Force seemed to say that there were several areas that they could enter at, but also cautioned to be wary all around the village.

Eventually, she figured that there was little more than she could do if she remained outside the walls of the city. Gathering the Force around her she leapt to grab the top of the wall with a Force Leap, Naruto soon following. Pulling themselves to the top, they swung themselves over and landed deftly on the other side. Looking around quickly, the frowned as they were hidden in a small group of trees that was aesthetically placed around the interior of the wall.

Looking to each other, An'ya sighed which made Naruto flinch. "What?"

"It's too easy." She muttered. Eyeing the area around them, she sighed before patting him on the back. "From here on, I'll follow your lead. The Force led you here, and whatever path it wishes to take you on I'll follow."

"…are you sure?"

"Yes." She said softly. It was one of the reasons she taught her students to trust in the Force, so that when she followed them, she would know that they'd be following what she'd follow as well. "I'll trust your judgment on this. This world is your home world, this village is where you were once born, and this is where you have been called back. I am honestly only here to supervise you, and see what path you'll take."

Naruto glanced to her, taking a deep breath as he reached out with the Force. It gave him an idea about where he needed to go, so with a quick glance to her he slowly left the trees and began making his way into the city.

x-=-x

"Sir, we have a pair of intruders at west gate, sector I-A." A man said, frowning as his eyes darted about wildly as he stared at the sphere before him. "It's…sir!"

"What is it?" One of the emergency response team asked, jumping to his feet.

"I've never felt this presence before, but it's similar to the description of the anomaly that came eight years ago during the Uzumaki Incident. I think…it's the same feeling."

The team's eyes widened, and they turned to their commander. He grimaced, glancing to his second in command. "We're taking no chances. Launch the flare."

At that, all of those gathered there jumped to their feet. Each of them began throwing equipment to one another, preparing themselves as quick as they could. There was a subtle tension in the air as they bolted from their position out into the streets of Konoha.

Around Konoha, there was a spherical barrier that surrounded it on all sides. From above, below, or from straight on it didn't matter; those who were in charge of keeping the barrier up would be alerted. And with the Chunin Exams coming up, they were especially vigilant, not willing to let any enemy shinobi sneak into their village.

However, this was different. This was something that each and every one of them had been trained in extensively, given specific instructions in regards to this scenario regardless of whether it was the real thing or not. Something the Hokage himself had come down hard on them for.

It had been a dark mark on their reputation when it had happened. When the Hyuuga Incident happened, it wasn't their fault; the enemy had already been within their walls and as such they wouldn't have realized what they were doing until it happened. Same with the Uchiha Massacre; Itachi had been so seamless and precise that no one even knew about it until the day after and even then it had been the silence that had alerted them to something being wrong.

The Uzumaki Incident was something else entirely. They'd felt it, but it had been so brief compared to what they normally sensed that most thought nothing of it. However, when they'd sent people to search for it, the elusive being eventually ended up escaping with the young Naruto Uzumaki in tow, and it had left a surprising scar on the face of the village. In turn, their leader Hiruzen Sarutobi – the Sandaime Hokage (Third Fire Shadow) – had begun several reforms that had changed the village enough that the boy's memory was well enough remembered for a child that had all but existed in the shadows at that particular time.

One of which was a mandate to the barrier corps, the first 'rule' made due to the Uzumaki Incident; should the presence be felt again, the entire corps was to be rallied to find it source, and the entity was to be captured. Alive, and brought before the Hokage. He wanted answers. They wanted answers. And now, for the first time in a long time, they had the opportunity to get them.

x-=-x

The city of Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was a curious village in the eyes of the two Jedi. For one, despite the fact that everyone so far had been speaking Galactic Basic, the written language was far from any dialect either of them had written. When An'ya had last been here, she'd not paid attention to the signs, focused more on the people instead, while Naruto had been so young he hadn't even known how to read or write yet. As such they found themselves seemingly wandering around aimlessly.

Naruto was leading, and he found the position somewhat awkward. He didn't know where they were going, and the Force seemed to be dragging them around in a wild goose chase through a great deal of crowded areas. Worse still, in each area he found himself stopping in the streets and staring at points that held shadows of a past that he'd once lived, but had become so far gone he couldn't remember anything of note. Each point seemed to simply remind him that for all that he'd once held here, there was now nothing left to him.

He'd occasionally thought about people who'd gone back to their families to find out their origins, and the people their parents were. The kind of people they were. He'd wondered about those who had been orphans, or just people who were sent to avoid a worse fate and sought to help them once they'd become stronger. It wasn't something he'd ever considered seeing how his home world was stuck in the Maw. Why would he want to come back? The world hadn't left him with memories he actively attempted to remember, and he'd eventually decided to leave those thoughts behind.

Now, standing in the streets of his home town, he felt nothing. No anger, no happiness, no reminiscing. Just…empty.

Looking to the different vendors, Naruto let his hands brush over their various wares. He didn't have any way of buying anything, but he felt it was what he needed to do. Why, he didn't know. Staring into the face of the fox-like mask, he sighed as he remembered the Kyuubi.

"_What are you?" _Naruto thought, fingers brushing over the ceramic material. Setting it back, he sighed and shook his head.

"Quite the interesting choice young man." The older lady who was running the shop said, watching him curiously.

"Yeah. It just…kinda stands out I guess."

Looking at the different masks, Naruto paused as he realized that it _did_ stand out. The fox mask was one of a very few that hung on her wall, looking surprisingly plain compared to the plethora of masks that hung next to it. There was a lot of colorful designs that were marking the others, but the fox had only a few around it ears and three marks like overdrawn whiskers on its face. There were several that stood out in spite of them, but they were all of creatures that he'd never seen. Slowly, he reached out and placed it back gently onto the rack.

"I see. Well, it was leftover from one of our festivals. We won't be having much use for them till next year, so they're at a discounted price." She said, smiling brightly as she waited for his decision.

That got Naruto's attention, once more finding gaps in his memory that – having been a child – he couldn't remember. "Festival?"

"Yes…" She narrowed her eyes at him warily. "You do know what festival I'm talking about, don't you?"

"I've never been to any kind of festival." Naruto admitted, glancing back to An'ya with a sheepish laugh. "We've been traveling a lot, so we don't often get to stick around for any citywide events."

"Oh." The woman seemed to accept that. "Well, it's from our Yondaime Festival."

"Your…fourth festival?"

How did he know that?

"Yes. See those mountains over there?" She pointed to the mountains, directly towards the head on the far right. "Years ago, our Yondaime Hokage fought in a battle in our very village against an enemy unlike any other; the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Naruto didn't outwardly react, but suddenly his reason for being here seemed much clearer. "What happened?"

"The creature was too much for the village, and many were falling to the creatures attack. Then, our Yondaime appeared. Taking over command, he lured the beast from the village and began fighting it, one-on-one. Despite its terrible power, the Yondaime beat it down, and eventually killed the beast. Even so, the Yondaime was forced to give his life to do so, making it impossible for the beast to do further harm to the civilian and shinobi alike. In memory of his sacrifice, and of all that he did even before the attack, we've been holding this festival in his memory."

Nodding slowly, Naruto thought over what she said before turning back to the mountain solemnly. "So, that mountain, it's…the faces of your village's past leaders? These, Hokage's?"

"Well, yes." She seemed stunned that Naruto was so ignorant of their culture. "The mountain's face has our Hokage's, from the first to the fourth. Currently the Sandaime retook the position of Hokage."

Naruto blinked, turning to the mountain again. "But…wait, I thought those were all of the dead. Hokages. You're saying the third one is still alive?"

"Of course. He's old, but he is still a powerful shinobi, and one that many look up to and have seen as the Shinobi no Kami."

There was a moment of silence as the woman paused upon seeing the expression Naruto's face shifted to. It was a deadpanned look, clearly unimpressed by the title. "Um, okay then. So that's just a mountain full of faces of your leaders. Good to know. At least I'll know his face should I never met him." Naruto shook his head with a sigh. "Sorry, I just…I'm not used to seeing stuff like this. It's weird to me."

"What village are you from?" She asked, looking rather wary.

"I don't know. I've traveled so much, I don't think I'd even remember it." Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, but I was just looking. I….thank you."

Her eyes seemed distant as she looked at him, not seeming to understand. Not wanting to remain under those eyes for much longer, he turned and walked away. There was no memory of this place, and no reason for him to remain. Still, the Force led him on, his silent assistant that took his hand and guided him to a scent that made his nose twitch. Pausing, Naruto turned to look down the street to a small hole-in-the-wall type establishment that had a group of kids entered it. Likely that was why he'd even caught a whiff of the scent.

Moving over slowly, he lifted the flap and peaked in curiously. It was small, filled with a couple of people who were chatting excitedly as they ate over a bowl of some kind of noodles. He flinched when he saw that they all had metal inscribed plates on them in some way, but quickly paid them no mind. He didn't want to think about it, or why they were all his age.

"Hello there, welcome to Ichiraku's! How can we help you?"

Naruto glanced up to the lady behind the counter, smiling cheerfully as she greeted him. Seeing that the others there were just ignoring him in favor of their own conversation, Naruto waved his hands dismissively. He had no money, and once again had wrongly led them to believe that he was there to purchase something. "Um, sorry, I was just looking around. I'll be on my way."

Dropping the curtain quickly, he scurried away. Behind him, he could hear one of the group saying something, but he ignored them. Something about this place was reminding him of something; whether it was good or bad, he didn't' care at this point. His emotions were slowly beginning to run more and more wild, and he was slowly coming under more distress.

An'ya placed a hand on his shoulder, helping guide him towards an alleyway where she could give him a moment to regain his composure. Letting him all by fall against the wall, she watched as he struggled with everything going on.

He seemed so much more fragile, lost, and hurt. Eight years away had certainly done nothing to help his memory, but seeing a world that was unfamiliar and lost territory to him seemed to hurt. For all that they knew, and all the training they'd had, even Jedi felt the pain of that which they had lost. It was difficult for anyone to deal with, and being the first time An'ya had a student was going through it, she found herself at a lost as to what she needed to do to help him. So, she stood next to him, lending her silent presence to support him.

x-=-x

Towards the far end of the city stood a training ground that had a large stone embedded into it. On the stone were the names of many people who'd died in battle, and was a place where many people would come to pay their respects. One such person stood there now, though their eyes were now skywards and their body language at complete attention.

Kakashi Hatake was a man who'd gone through a great deal in his life. In his youth his father passed away, then one by one his teammates passed away, and finally he'd lost one of those people who'd he'd sworn to protect. It was why this spot was of particular interest to him, allowing him to pay his respects to those who'd passed, and those who were lost.

It had been a disaster when for him when he'd lost Naruto. He'd been in charge of the special squad that had been scrambled to hunt down whoever had taken him. No one had seen it coming, seeing how no one had been alerted to Naruto's status as a jinchuriki, or even his heritage. Yet, despite all of that, someone had gotten into the village, gotten a hold of him, and then had been able to leave with him in tow.

Fighting desperately to find their trail had left him and the others lost when they got to a clearing where the trail just cut off. At first they thought it might've been something like the Tsuchikage's Jinton (Earth Shadow's Dust Release) which might've let them fly away, but searching further they realized that the scents just cut off. More likely it was some form of summoning technique used to reverse summon whoever it was that had kidnapped Naruto with them.

That meant whoever it was that had done this had likely been a seals master of some sort. It took far less time than Kakashi had anticipated getting Jiraiya, one of the foremost experts on the subject of seals, back to the village to have him look around at the site. The man had been stoic, like a stone wall as he'd stood in the center of the clearing. Kakashi had stood by him, watching as the man had surveyed the area, eyeing each and every point in the clearing once, twice, and repeated more times as he tried to find some sign of what had happened. Yet, even with all of their combined skills, they'd turned up nothing.

The blow had been heavy to each and every one of them. None of them could account for where Naruto had been at the time, and all of them had been quite aware of what they'd been doing. Each of them knew that they couldn't have done anything, their positions taking their time and attention from the boy, and yet they all blamed themselves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, had been distraught. They'd been so certain that their defenses would be fine, that they'd increased them after the Hyuuga Incident. Yet, once again, he found himself looking at the village as it was and finding it lacking. Worse still was that a year later the Uchiha Massacre happened right under their noses.

No one had spoken to the man about that; no sane being that is. There were some who'd been distraught, and had tried to rally and speak up about how he'd failed them. Most of them soon found that the man was far from pleased with their voices as he himself would step forwards to speak to those people. It had been sobering, and terrifying when he'd appeared, a specter of destruction hanging over him as he would approach them. He loved the village as much as any other, and sought desperately to help them. As soon as he began shifting things around and reforming several underused programs, the people were soon aware of what he was trying to do.

He wanted whoever it was found, brought before him, and crushed beneath the weight of Konoha's might. And then, he would find wherever they'd taken Naruto, and bring him home.

Jiraiya had all but vanished once again from the village, once more becoming the wandering hermit he'd been known as. His books had come out still, but there had been a few smaller books that he'd begun writing as well. Books that, despite not being in the same genera that he normally wrote, had a small following that was beginning to grow as well; stories of a man in mourning, fighting impossible odds for a fight that was considered long since lost. It was something more akin to The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, though it had the main narrative being told through Jiraiya's own eyes as he sought out something, or someone that he couldn't find.

It had been rather sobering to read Those Who Are Lost, and Kakashi had a copy of the book on his person much like he did with Icha-Icha Paradise. His choice of time as to when he would read it was different of course, but it also was one of the very limited indicators to those around him as to his thoughts and emotions.

Which brought him to his own change. He'd been an active member of Anbu, Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (Special Assassination and Tactical Squad), Hiruzen had taken him from the squad when he'd become to brutal with his methods. His grip had been tightening and slamming down on his squad and those they were sent against, and it worried and troubled those around him. Gai Maito, one of the men on his team who'd kept contact with him after Anbu, had been one of the people who'd helped grab him and keep him from completely losing himself to his own personal darkness.

Hiruzen had told him to take a genin squad, a group of three shinobi initiates, to train them to help give him a new sense of purpose. He'd failed so many squads, keeping so many promising genin from getting through due to them not understanding the purpose of his tests. All of them, save for those who were training behind him now.

Turning around, he glanced to the one genin who was practicing behind him. He'd eased off a bit with the test when he found Sasuke was on the team since he had multiple reasons influencing his choice. One of them though, was the thought that Sasuke would have been placed with Naruto as they were in the same age group. It made him nostalgic, and rather than making it an automatic failure, he'd given them a second chance; an opportunity that he'd not given to any of the other genin before them.

Sasuke had been the only one who seemed to take the training seriously in the beginning though, and it worried him quite a bit seeing how the two girls who he'd been placed with fawned over him for the longest time. The boy was distant from them, and their attentions had almost lost them quite a bit on one of their most recent missions. It had come close to costing them their lives, and had been quite the sobering experience for them all. He'd all but driven the girls into the ground until they'd become at least competent enough to understand their mistakes. They still fawned over him, but at a more sedated manner.

Said boy turned to him, panting slowly as he looked at Kakashi curiously. He'd always seemed to be more aware of Kakashi's moods and attitude, but at the moment Kakashi was an unreadable statue before him. Something had changed.

That something had been a sight in the sky, a red flare that rose up over the village, a signal that was never used in this color. Blue was a practice run, meant to keep the villagers and shinobi on their toes so that they'd be ready for the red flare. There was a silent consensus among the shinobi that both of the options were preferable; to never see it and never have to worry about the event happening again, or see the signal and finally get the person who'd done this.

Even better, they'd possibly be able to determine what village they were from as well, seeing how they'd likely arrived for the Chunin Exams. And if the village was looking to add insult to injury, they might've even sent the same person.

"Sasuke, why don't you relax for the day? You'll want to be rested for tomorrows missions."

His voice was calm, but his book had been put away the moment he'd seen the flare. Sasuke knew that when his book was put away, he was being completely serious and demanding his full attention. Nodding slowly, Sasuke slowly turned back to the village. Glancing back to Kakashi, he frowned as he found the spot he'd been at a moment before was empty.

Said man had launched himself forward with all the strength in his body, moving far faster than his young charge as he raced back to the village. His hand had already come up to his headband, pulling it upwards to unveil his scarred left eye, readying it for whatever may come. As soon as he arrived at the edge of the village, he brought a kunai to his thumb and drew it quickly across his thumb and ran through a series of seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"

His hand slammed down on a rooftop, and eight dogs dressed in shinobi-like attire – ninken – appeared where his hand had been. He didn't stop though, knowing that they would follow him as they raced after him. They could see the flare as clear as day and he'd trained them on what to do and where to go, so they moved fluidly and in a coordinated manner.

"Kakashi, what is it?" The small pug asked, moving swiftly to Kakashi's side.

"I don't know." Kakashi said, eye darting rapidly through the village as he tried to locate the barrier response team. They were making their way from the center of the village, but with the time between their sensing them and actually getting to wherever they were at, there was likely a bit more time than he'd have liked in finding whoever it was. Gritting his teeth, his hands snapped to the side. "Spread out! I don't want them getting away this time!"

"Yes sir!" They barked, shooting off into the distance.

It took a half hour before they actually found something of note, the various shinobi and delegates filtering in from all over the Elemental Nations quite the hindrance to their search. Whoever it was, they'd chosen a good time to enter the village seeing how they could use the various people who were entering the village. Eventually though, he noticed some of the squad moving towards the market district. His ninken were following a few of the individuals, so he turned on his heel and raced over to them.

He was greeted by several of them, all of the different squads knowing of his position as an unofficial member of the response team. He'd gone through the training, the different events that they'd had, and was always there for the practice. As such, they quickly rallied around his ninken, and then to him as he arrived.

"Report."

"We've discovered a trail where the scent of two unknown individuals entered the village in sector I-A. Following it back, it's led us to this area, where there are two people in the alleyway."

Kakashi nodded, landing across from them as he looked into the alley. Seeing the individuals in question, he glared at them for a moment before opening his left eye. Red iris with three coma-like marks that spiraled around the pupil were a stark contrast to the pitch black of his right eye. The legendary sharingan, the copy wheel eye. A gift from his former teammate, and the tool he felt would be necessary in determining what their foe was using, and defeating them.

Leaping down to land on the fence a short ways away from them, like an ominous shadow, he glared down at the two as he rose to full height. "By order of the Sandaime Hokage, you're to come with us. Any attempt to resist will be met with equal force. Surrender now."

* * *

><p>AN: Oh hey Kakashi, how are you – wait don't kill them I need them for the story!<p>

Anyways, Naruto is now in Konoha, and eight years is a _long_ time to be away from anywhere. As such, he doesn't have the clearest memories of his home. And there are several changes (obviously) so I figured now would be a good time to at the very least start going over a few of them.

Time for some Q&A!

**Nightlance44**: You'll see. I can't spoil that since that's…well, you'll see in a few chapters.

**MEleeSmasher**: Well, as you saw in the last chapter, An'ya is struggling to connect with Naruto a bit due to her own preconceived notions. Plus, she's become worried about him since Nar Shaddaa. She wasn't before as she thought he wasn't going to the dark side, but after it was revealed that he was the strange energy, she's not sure. To make matters worse, he used the power to save someone. Plus, to the Jedi the Force is black and white. Naruto is talking about it in Technicolor. It's a strange way to describe it, and right now she's dismissed it. Whether she'll keep that opinion or not, well, you'll have to read on to find out!

**hosechavez**: Patience~ he still needs to learn what chakra is before he can think about using it. Don't worry, there's stuff planned.

**Vizard890**: Revan is used by _everyone_ and their _mother_ in these kinds of stories. Don't get me wrong, using things everyone knows does work, and eventually Naruto will be encountering some Revan stuff, but…why would he look it up now? He has no reason to, and if I just gave it to him because Revan is a Grey Jedi, then that defeats part of the purpose of Naruto's struggle to find balance should he become a Grey Jedi himself. Of course, that's not to say that Revan won't help later, but Naruto should at the very least begin building up some preconceived notions about the Force so that when he has a "talk" with Revan, it'll build on what he's made rather than become its foundation.


	46. Chapter 46

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star War.

* * *

><p>Silence.<p>

There was something about the whole scenario that was off, for all involved. On one side, the shinobi watched warily, waiting to see what they were going to do. The other had the intruders, who were confused, emotional, and startled. It should have been obvious from the get go that this wasn't going to end well.

"AHHH!" The young boy shouted, a burst of energy all but exploding from his body. For all his control, and all the training he'd had, with the day he was having and the emotions that were rolling across his body, there was only so much he could take.

The shinobi in the area saw the shockwave that built around the boy seconds before it rushed over them. Even Kakashi was a bit caught off guard by it. He saw it coming, but as soon as the burst of air hit him he flinched, causing his right eye to close while his left watched in confusion.

Kakashi could see that the woman was hit by part of the shockwave, but not quite as much as unlike the shinobi she seemed to be able to feel the shockwave barely a moment before it hit. She was struck by it though, as she was far too close to the boy to _not_ be hit by hit in some way. Stumbling slightly, she reached back and grabbed Naruto and yanked him backwards along with her. Surrender was an option, a very viable one at that, but from what she could tell, it was also the sort of option that told her that should she give in they would harm them.

Tone is a very strange thing, yet also a very powerful one. It speaks volumes for people's current mindset and mood. And from tone, one could find that they could discern the truth of what a person really meant.

Kakashi had been out of Anbu for a while. He hadn't needed to use any form of authoritative voice besides for his students to inform and guide them. He hadn't ever been angry at them, and as such he'd never realized how he sounded when he was angry. Despite the fact they were meant to capture them, he sounded like their planned course of action was to kill them.

So, they ran. It was stupid, guilty, but with all of the shinobi around them neither of them wanted to stick around to be caught. Worse still, they were in the shinobi's home village, and as such they would receive no assistance from anyone.

"Stop them!" Kakashi shouted, already on the move as he and his ninken began running with him. The others needed a second more as they'd been less prepared for the surprise attack. His eyes narrowed as he chased them, keeping an eye on them as he leapt from roof to roof. "Where do you think you're going?"

On the ground below him, the woman dragged the boy – likely her charge or student – through the streets. The poor boy wasn't able to near move fast enough as he stumbled behind her, holding her back and keeping her from going as fast as they wanted. Perhaps even as fast as they needed. Kakashi would be more than capable of dropping down in front of them at any moment, were it not that they were also fighting through the line of civilians who were trying to simply go about their day.

This created enough of an advantage for them to duck down another alley where they could hide for a moment. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, leaping over the next house down into the alley. As he fell into the alley though, his eyes widened as saw the faint impression of the two of them moving through a wall.

"…what?" Kakashi frowned, moving to the wall carefully. There was nothing on it that indicated any sort of way that they escaped, and the wall felt as solid as ever. "They…could have placed explosive tags in it."

Stepping back, Kakashi grit his teeth beneath his facemask. This would get them nowhere! Darting down the alley, he raced around to the front of the store and quickly entered it. It was a Yamanaka store, selling flowers and other various plants that they sold. Barreling into the back room where he tried to cut them off, he grimaced as he raced through the back door only to find their trail vanishing.

"Where did they go?" Kakashi muttered, closing his eyes to follow his nose. Catching the scent, he opened his eyes as he turned back into the room and paused, staring at the wall. "…oh you've got to be kidding me."

They'd psyched her out. Somehow the woman had been able to drag them through a wall, and then when he'd left to find them she'd dragged them back through it. It wasn't any sort of technique that he knew about, and she'd made not hand signs, so he couldn't copy it with the sharingan. One of her hands had been obscured by her grip on the boy, which made it worse.

Shaking his head, he glanced back. Thankfully his ninken hadn't followed him, so it was likely they were still on their tail. Taking a small breath, he relaxed, let go of the flair of anger in him, and refocused himself.

"You won't get away…not again."

x-=-x

"I'm sorry master I –"

An'ya didn't say anything, pushing Naruto down another path as they were still pursued by the various people who were following them. The first man was quite skilled, faster than she'd imagined, and had almost caught them had she not been able to use the Force to move through the wall. That, combined with the ability to sense their surroundings, she'd been able to leave him behind for a moment. Only a moment though, as she knew it would take far more than that to stop someone like him.

His aura, his very presence in the Force, it reeked of the dark side. Yet, despite his clear affiliation with the dark side, and with those emotions that should have dragged him down long ago, his eyes had been…strange. One was still black, yet the other was red. Sith didn't have red eyes, or regular black eyes. They had yellow eyes, showing the darkness in their hearts which had polluted them and dragged them down into the depths.

Naruto was panting softly, not sure what to make of this. As soon as he avoided talking, he ran beside her, letting the Force flow through him to give him more speed running through the streets. They could feel them, closing in on them, getting closer to the point he could almost feel them right behind him.

Yelping, he was yanked off his feet as someone grabbed him. No, they _were_ right behind him! They were faster than he'd realized, and had caught up to them. He felt something cold pressed against his throat just seconds before An'ya whipped around and slammed her fist into the man's side with a Force Push behind it. Naruto yelped a second time as he was launched backwards as well, the two of them slamming into a wall.

"Run Naruto! I'll meet up with you later." An'ya said, gathering the Force as she leapt upwards. The silent message was clear; she would lead them away and give Naruto a chance to at the very least slip away.

Naruto didn't want to. Running was the last thing he wanted, and he didn't want to think about what would happen if An'ya was caught either. But the Force told him that he needed to run. That he needed to leave, and hide. So, grabbing what the man who'd held him had in his hand, he raced into the alley in an attempt to get away. Gathering the Force around him, he quickly breathed out and let the Force flow through him in a cloak-like form so that he could hide away.

Up on the rooftops, An'ya began leaping across the rooftops as she reached out through the Force. Grabbing the primitively made tiles on the rooftops, she waited for a moment as she let them hover behind her before throwing them back. There were a few startled shouts from those who were hit, but she knew that there were more coming and she couldn't stop yet.

Reaching out in the Force, she dragged the Force in the light apart and wrapped it around her. It was somewhat nostalgic of the last time she was here, as she became invisible to their sight.

"She's over there. Just follow my nose!"

Nose? Follow…

She glanced back, grimacing at the animals that followed. Sentient beings, with advanced smell. Just what she didn't need when she wanted to remain out of sight. It had happened on occasion when she had first been learning the technique, where an animal had thrown her off by finding her. But then, she also needed them to know where she was so that wouldn't chase Naruto. Hopefully they'd think that Naruto was with her, and keep following.

Turning around, she raised her hand and threw it out again. Throwing a few more tiles, more hazardously this time, she watched as she made sure to avoid aiming for anything vital. She shouldn't have worried. While they weren't able to see her, they were able to see that the tiles as they raced towards them and were able to dodge to the side. Good. She wasn't trying to hurt them, just keep their attention for now.

As they drew closer, she bit her lip. They were fast, and from what she could tell, the dark side energy around them far faster than she could move meaning they'd quickly overtake her. The only other options was to turn and fight; the last resort she had. Diplomacy was out since the angry man had made it obvious that they weren't in that mind set from the get go. Running had become pointless the moment she realized that they were tracking her by scent. She _could_ have just jumped into the crowd to see how long it would take for them to find her in the myriad of scents, but then Naruto would become a focus, as he was less experienced in the art of disappearing.

So that left the last of two options; fight or surrender, and once more the angry man's tone rang in her mind. She couldn't do that. Not when they had already decided her fate.

Waiting until the first of them got just a tad to close, she stepped forwards and launched the palm of her hand up into his chin. Invisible to their eyes, she was able to easily catch the poor man off guard and knock him off his feet. Being mid-jump mean this momentum carried him forwards into the tiles of the rooftop, though thankfully he hit the middle section and as such didn't continue down in the crowd below.

Looking around, she counted at least four others. The eight creatures likely would step in to try and counter her, so she'd have to keep them in mind as she moved. The others were somewhat aware of the attack she'd just done, and skid to a halt around the area where he'd fallen. Each of them took up defensive stances, eyes daring around slowly. They seemed far less aggressive, but then she was also invisible to them and it wouldn't be out of the question for her to attack them.

Part of her thought about drawing her lightsaber to finish this as quickly as possible, but in a place where she was quite clearly out matched, it would only make things worse. She was _not_ a hand-to-hand expert in any sense of the word, and while the Force was able to supplement her abilities and give her a second wind it wouldn't be enough in the long run. Four wasn't too many, but in a village that was filled with anyone who could be considered hostile reinforcements wouldn't be far off.

The first of them to step forwards, or rather leap forwards, was one of the dogs. With a growl they charged at her, aiming for her legs to take her down. The dog was small but sleek, and were the Force not able to give her warnings, she would have been knocked down. As it was, she was able to leap over it, eyes snapping to the side as one of the others around her threw some bladed weapons at her. They spun strangely, like some kind of starblade. Grabbing them in the Force, she pushed them to the side just enough for them to miss as she fell to the rooftops with a bit of a clatter.

She wasn't someone who was an experienced combatant, but she understood enough of the rules of engagement to know that she wouldn't be able to just stay still. Rolling to her feet, she threw herself to her feet and stumbled forwards. As she moved, she heard the scraping of claws on tile as another of the dogs leapt at her. Ignoring it for a second, she focused on the woman in front of her, her position in a guarded stance as she tried to see her coming. She could hear the clattering of her feet on the tiles, and the dogs were looking close enough to her position to give her a close idea as to where she was. It wasn't enough though, as she stepped around the woman and tried to rush past them.

Fleeing was still an option now, and with another Force propelled leap, she breathed a soft sigh as she tried to get some distance between her and them.

"Oh no you don't."

She flinched as she heard the voice, so close she knew that they were practically right behind her. Him. It was him again. As her feet touched the ground, she tried as desperately as she could to throw herself forwards again, which allowed her to just barely avoid the blow to the base of her neck that would have knocked her out.

As it was, she simply rolled to her feet and snapped around, frowning as she saw that the man who she'd been following was now standing behind her. His eyes spoke of the darkness hidden behind them, glaring at her invisible form. Unlike the others, it seemed that he wasn't fooled by her trick, though he still had difficulty focusing on her thanks to the Force.

"What do you want?" She asked, looking for some way out of this situation. Stalling would only end up poorly for her, but she wanted to know.

"…" The man just stared at her, almost looking relaxed despite what everything else in his bodies posture seemed to scream that he was livid. "Surrender now, and maybe we'll skip straight to the interrogation rather than beat around the bush."

"Interrogation? But why do you need to interrogate me? I've done nothing wrong."

"You've broken into our city, and your people whoever they are have done so before." The man's fingers slowly clenched into a fist. "We want answers, and whether you want to or not, you _will_ give them to us."

An'ya frowned at that, shifting slightly. Once more, she was reminded that this was a military establishment. Of _course_ they'd have security in some form or another. Still, the way he said that worried her. The implications were obvious, and she wanted no part in them.

"Don't even think about it." The man said slowly, his body slowly attempting to move to match her posture. "I won't be playing around right now. If you don't give up now, I will fulfill my promise."

That he would return any action equal to what she did. Thankfully all she'd done was run and…hit one of the people. Frowning, she tried to think of something that she could do. "You aren't giving me much options that work out well for us both."

"You don't deserve them." He said with a hiss, eyes narrowing. "After what you people did, you're lucky the Sandaime has a standing order about people like you."

"People like me?" Jedi. Of course, if everyone there used the same energy type, she would stand out amongst them. But then, that also meant that they didn't realize that there was more than one person who could do this. Best to keep it that way. "Strange, I didn't know there were others."

As the words left her mouth, the man's eyes almost seemed worse. Somehow, despite doing what she could to avoid such a thing, she'd angered him further. "So it was _you_."

She almost missed his movement. The Force practically had to raise its voice in warning to scream at her so that she could dodge his fist. It still managed to brush against her chin, and she stumbled backwards. The second blow was a kick to her head, and this time she wasn't fast enough to block or dodge, so she received a full blow to the head and was sent tumbling across the rooftop until she was sent off the rooftop into the crowd with a crash. Despite several people helping to break her fall, she still hit it hard, and the blow to her head was dazing.

The last thing she saw was the man leaping down to stand over her, eyes all but searing into her as he leaned down. Then, his fist slammed down onto her head, and she blacked out.

x-=-x

Few things could draw Hiruzen Sarutobi from anything he had locked himself into. He'd been taking care of many events for the Chunin Exams, including several other things involving the different tests that the genin would be taking. At the same time, he'd also needed to help give out the different missions that those beneath him that he required them to take. It was a strenuous and arduous process that took up a great deal of his time.

The moment he heard that a suspect in the Uzumaki Incident had been caught trying to sneak into the village, he'd all but bolted to his feet and he'd strode out in the direction of the Anbu Headquarters. A few of his attendants tried to step ahead of him, curious and lost as he moved through the halls. Yet, the moment they did they quickly stumbled back, the anger rolling off of his body practically permitting him as he stormed out of his tower.

It took only a short while for him to reach the torture and interrogation section of headquarters, and upon arriving there he was greeted by Kakashi and a group of medics. Staring at his former head of Anbu, his face was pressed in a thin line as he stepped up to him. "What happened."

It wasn't a question, it was a demand, and Kakashi knew it. "We were able to apprehend the woman who broke in, but the second signature, a young boy, is still running around. We've got a few more people helping out, but it seems he's at the very least decent at stealth."

"I see." Hiruzen continued walking deeper into the area, adjusting his steps so that the medics could keep up with them. Glancing to them, he frowned. "Were many of our men injured in the attempt to capture her?"

"…no." Kakashi admitted after a moment.

"Then why are they here?"

"I asked them to be here." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his forehead as he glanced to them. "I wanted to get a bit more information about her before she woke up, even if it was just some kind of medical history. The results…weren't what we expected. And before you ask, I had them doing this because…it's her. She's the one who took Naruto eight years ago."

Hiruzen reached out his hand expectantly, and was rewarded with the medical report being placed immediately into his hand. He flipped through it quickly, not seeming to take in all of the information all at once, merely taking in the basics for the first run through. Thankfully the doctors had decided to highlight the important parts. As such, as he'd gone through it a second time, he slowed down, and came to almost a slow crawl as he read over it again.

Looking over his shoulder, the doctor took a deep breath before quickly explaining. "We did a full blood work to check and see if there was some kekki genkai that had allowed her to use the techniques she did. According to some, there was no indication that she'd been preparing a jutsu when she'd suddenly become invisible. They also reported that she threw tiles like shuriken, but only aimed for their bodies, and there was no infusion of chakra into the pieces that were thrown."

"I happen to know that technique myself." Hiruzen said, humming softly as he stared at the page with a confused look. "What I'm curious about is her blood levels."

"Ah, that." The doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead as he continued. "We haven't tried to double check our readings yet, but it seems she's rather thin blooded. It's strange. Everything else seems normal, but her blood levels are…unusual."

"Why is it unusual?" Hiruzen asked, glancing to them curiously.

"Well," The man motioned to Kakashi, who seemed somewhat abashed now. "When we checked her blood levels, it was due to some of the damage she'd taken from the hit Kakashi dealt to her head. He's rather controlled, so we don't question that his intention was to knock her out. However, the kick also bruised her face quite a bit, though thankfully he didn't break anything."

"…I don't understand. What does that have to do with her blood levels?"

"That's the thing. According to the tests, as you can see, her platelet levels are also lower as well. If anything, I'd say that they're…around three fifths what would be considered normal for your average adult. Likely this means there's something wrong with her bone marrow, which could potentially affect her bone density. As such, she wouldn't be able to take as many blows as we might, would tire easier, and would be far easier to kill."

Hiruzen hummed, suddenly beginning to understand what he meant. "In other words, more of a stealth classed shinobi. Someone who'd be more built for infiltration and subterfuge rather than assassination or other kinds of shinobi work."

"That's what we thought, but there's something else." Kakashi said, pulling out something that he then handed to Hiruzen. "She was armed with this. It's similar to the Nidaime's Raijin no Ken (Second's Sword of the Thunder God)."

Hiruzen's hand ran over it slowly, the design looking more like it was designed to be used by the Shodaime, as it was covered in a plant resembling design. Turning it over slowly, he shook his head and handed it back to Kakashi. "And what is it that you're trying to insinuate Kakashi?"

"She had a weapon, but this is the only weapon she had on her. As I said before, she didn't injure many us during the struggle. If she'd wanted to harm us, she could have used this."

"Then why didn't she?"

"…we don't know." Kakashi glanced to the window of an interrogation room, staring at the woman who was bound with several seals to prevent her from moving. "Maybe we should ask her."

Handing back the medical report, Hiruzen watched as Ibiki stepped up next to them. "Don't worry Hokage-sama, we'll get the truth from her."

"I know." Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his chin slowly. "I trust you'll do what needs to be done. Were it not for my position, I would enter myself to question her, but if she realized that what she'd done had reached as high up as myself she might try to hold the information over us. We cannot have that. We need answers."

"Of course Hokage-sama." Ibiki shook his head, stepping into the room as he drew upon a stoic expression.

Kakashi watched him enter, moving over to sit across from her as he grit his teeth. "I wish I were in there. I should've…I could've…"

"Kakashi." Hiruzen cut him off, getting him to flinch. "You know that I understand your feelings on the matter, and believe me when I say that I feel much the same. However, it's for that same reason that we should not enter. We need answers, not vengeance."

"I know, but –"

"Kakashi."

"…yes Hokage-sama."

In the room, Ibiki stared down the woman with a critical stare. She seemed rather reserved, curiously watching him with an observant look of her own. Sitting across from her, he slowly leaned forwards as he took a small breath. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No." She said, staring at him with a flat look. "In fact, it seems rather redundant for me to even be here, but I suppose that you feel obligated to do something so go ahead."

Ibiki paused before speaking. He'd had flippant responses before, and he knew a few ways as to how to break them even before they'd finally given up and decided to move to the torture section due to their stubbornness. She seemed rather sincere though, as though she truly believed that she had done nothing wrong. "Redundant though you may think it, what you did has brought you to our attention, and it would behoove you to be cooperative."

"I don't see any reason not to." She craned her neck slightly, looking towards the mirror. "Would you like your superiors to join us? I'm sure they'd like to be here as well."

"…she knows we're here?" Kakashi asked, seeming surprised by that.

"Not likely. She likely has had to deal with interrogation before, and –"

"The angry one is there too. I never did get his name before she kicked me in the face."

All eyes turned to Kakashi, who was now blinking owlishly. Glancing to Hiruzen, he raised his brow with a perturbed look on his face. "Well that's strange."

"And now he's confused. Maybe you shouldn't have him come in. He's still quite angry after all."

Ibiki clenched his teeth together, breathing out heavily. "You're speaking to me, not to them."

"Am I? They're the ones who want this information. So why shouldn't I speak directly to them?"

"Enough. I am the one asking the question." Ibiki said calmly. "Now, you said you would cooperate."

"I did."

"Then why don't you answer a simple question first. What is your name?"

"An'ya Kuro."

"Well then An'ya-san, why did you return?"

"It wasn't me who chose to return." An'ya sighed, shaking her head. "Considering how you all are reacting to my presence, I should have warned him more thoroughly that coming back was a bad idea. However he felt that he needed to come back."

"Come back?"

"Did she have an associate? Someone that helped her get in and out of the village?" Kakashi muttered, trying to think over what she meant.

"He's an empath you know."

"What?"

"Naruto. He's an empath."

The entire room grew silent and cold as her words sank in. "She knows."

"I am not a fool." An'ya leaned forwards, and the mood in the room shifted. She'd taken control of the situation with those few words. "You assaulted me, spoke of what happened eight years ago, knocked me unconscious, and are now interrogating me. I'm honestly surprised that you didn't skip straight to torture or something to that extent."

"We are _not_ savages. We're shinobi." Ibiki said flatly.

An'ya snorted at that. "I don't know what a shinobi is, but I do know a military organization when I see it. And yet, for one orphaned child, you've done all of this?"

Hiruzen grit his teeth, realizing that she'd already pieced together part of the puzzle. If she knew about his heritage, then there would be nothing left. They'd have to do something. They'd have to break her, get the information from her, and then kill her. She couldn't be allowed to leave. She couldn't –

"Oh, well that's quite the shift." An'ya said, looking rather confused as she glanced to the window. "Seems your boss is really angry about what I just said."

"Seeing how you've shown little remorse for what you did, it should be quite understandable." Ibiki was feeling a bit put off by her attitude, as it felt like he was dealing more with an unruly civilian rather than a trained shinobi.

Turning back to Ibiki, she sighed. "You know, if you'd actually come to me calmly, and spoken to me without making my only option to be one where I had to fight or run…"

Hiruzen glanced to Kakashi, whose head fell as he recalled how he'd approached that. However, he'd followed procedure, and in the end he would have done the same thing were he to repeat the event.

"…you could've met him."

Kakashi and Hiruzen's eyes snapped to her. Ibiki's gaze became a glare as he too realized what she meant. "What do you mean by that?"

An'ya leaned back, looking to the mirror again. "…I'm sorry that it had to happen this way."

Behind the mirror, Hiruzen was gritting his teeth. Turning on his heel, he marched as quickly as he could out of the Anbu HQ. Kakashi was soon following after him, keeping just behind him. Once more, Hiruzen moved in a manner that told all those who were near him to stand away, and let him through. The members of Anbu were more steeled and prepared for it, but seeing their leader in such a state made them anxious. It was rare sight to see him in such a mood, and they knew before he spoke that he would soon be directing them to do something.

"Kakashi."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"I need you to get a few of the young genin teams."

Kakashi blinked, not having expected that. "Hokage-sama?"

"He won't respond well to us. We've already thrown things off, and caused him to fear our higher ranked shinobi. I don't want him coming to me feeling like a prisoner. Perhaps, if we get him to come to us, we can finally get some answers. No beating around the bush, no jumping through hoops."

"Or maybe he's indoctrinated to whatever organization this An'ya Kuro is part of." Kakashi said with a scowl behind his mask. "However, it makes sense to do that. It'd be…faster, but –"

"Kakashi."

"…yes Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen took a deep breath, shaking his head as Kakashi rushed off to find some of the genin teams. It was a scenario the likes of which he'd never experienced before, but he would persevere. Naruto was out there, home once more. Now, all that remained, was a little bit of patience to get the result that he wanted and the village needed.

* * *

><p>AN: Well then, did I just give Naruto's teammates a chance at meeting with him? I believe that would work. Obviously they'd want to keep Naruto here, but if they kidnapped him and sealed him, there'd always be a chance that he'd one day break the seal and he'd remember. At least this way an attempt at a "peaceful scenario" appears to be made. But then, this is the Rookie 12; peaceful doesn't happen all that often.<p>

So, in the next chapter, our first "reunion" will begin.

Oh! Also, before anyone says anything about how fast An'ya was defeated, this might help while preventing me to give in to spoiling the whole reason Naruto was called back. How? Why the first question in Q&A of course!

**jackpotdante**: An'ya Kuro would be considered high B to low A rank if she were a shinobi, but mainly for stealth and infiltration as stated. She's not a combatant based Jedi after all.

**MEleeSmasher**: Hm, it's possible. But whether or not she'll be able to paint with all the colors of the wind will be seen later.

**LordGhostStriker**: Excellent question! One that will actually be answered in this arc, so stay tuned!

And since that's all the questions, I'll see you all in the next chapter of **From Darkness**!


	47. Chapter 47

AN: I don't own Naruto or Star Wars.

* * *

><p>As he raced through the city, Kakashi felt his emotions being slammed away as he shoved them aside. <em>"He's alive."<em> He thought as he leapt from roof to roof. _"Thank Kami-sama, he's alive."_

Admittedly he'd run the poor boy off, and he now couldn't approach him. It hurt him to think that he'd ruined the chance to meet the boy to try and ask his forgiveness for being too slow to save him. He now needed help to find him. It wasn't a scenario that he liked as he preferred his own hands being a part of events, but he didn't have a choice.

Kakashi knew what to do though. He knew where to go, and he knew how to find them. However, for all of these different attributes, as he leapt down towards the two people he was first trying to look for he completely missed normal signs that would at the very least make for a better ice breaker than what he said.

"We need to talk."

The two individuals before him were sensei's like him, having taken and accepted their own team of genin in the same age group as those he had taken. As such their students would be useful in helping find and possibly bring in Naruto. It also helped that one had a team that was known for working together to accomplish things, while the other had a tracking team.

The sensei's were Asuma and Kurenai respectively; well distinguished members of Konoha's shinobi corps, who he'd fought beside a few times during his missions. He could trust them, and he could rely on their support.

However, time away from the world and withdrawing due to his emotional turmoil made it a bit harder for him to realize that his initial presence wasn't appreciated. Mainly due to the fact the two were spending time together is what appeared to be another of their 'not-a-date's'.

"What do you want Kakashi?" Asuma asked gruffly, seeming perturbed by the man's presence there.

"I need your help with something…" Glancing around, he motioned for them to continue to a small public area. "But somewhere where we can't be overheard, alright?"

Kurenai nodded slowly, more readily picking up the vibe that something was going down. Giving Asuma a small nudge, she helped get him to follow them as he grumbled. It wasn't as often that they got time like this, and knowing that it was going to be ruined by whatever Kakashi was going to talk about made him more of a grump than he usually was. Then again, he also wasn't as pleased as he usually was about how Konoha was changing either.

As they reached a corner where they wouldn't be overheard, Kakashi turned around and stared at them. "The Uzumaki Protocol has been activated."

The two stared at him for a moment before Asuma pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes Kakashi, we know. We saw. We aren't blind, we just didn't got help because we knew there were _others_ out there taking care of it."

"We found the intruders." Kakashi continued, acting as though he didn't hear what he'd said. "It was a woman and a boy duo, who were attempting to sneak in. For what purpose we don't know, but the woman was captured so likely a Yamanaka will be assisting Ibiki in finding out why there here."

Kurenai frowned, noting a slight shift in Kakashi's tone. He was angry, much more so than he'd ever openly expressed in a long time. "Who was she? Do we at least know that much?"

"All we know is that her name is An'ya Kuro, and she was the original person who breached our defenses eight years ago and caused the Uzumaki Incident."

That caught them both flatfooted. "Wait, she returned?" Asuma looked wary. Kakashi wouldn't have come just to tell them this, so why was he here? "That doesn't make any sense. Any good shinobi would know better than to return to a place after they've done something as blatant as that."

"From what we can tell she has had little shinobi training, likely from a smaller village. No hiate though, so we can't determine which one." Kakashi shook his head. "She was at least smart about that."

"And, what about the boy?"

"…the boy is still at large, but Hokage-sama has changed the method of capturing him. He wants us to use our genin teams to find him, befriend him, and bring him before the Hokage."

"_What?_" Asuma was startled. "Why would my old man change protocol like that? That's just –"

"The boy is around twelve years old, blond haired, blue eyes, likely with three whisker-like marks on each cheek."

"So? What does that have to do with – ack! Kurenai what was that for?"

"Shut up Asuma." Kurenai's words were soft, but the myriad of emotions on her face told him that she was taken aback by this turn of events.

Asuma growled, looking between the two. "Listen, I was still with the Twelve Guardians when all that went down in the first place. So can someone give me an explaination as to why this kid is suddenly so important?"

"It's because we wouldn't need to send people to find Naruto. He's already here in the village."

Asuma's jaw clenched, eyes widening as he finally put the last piece of the puzzle in place. "…I need a smoke."

"That can wait." Kakashi said sharply. "He's been off running around for over an hour, and hasn't been caught yet. As such, I need your team's assistance in helping not only find him, but bring him back to the Hokage _peacefully. _We don't want him to turn tail and run before we can try and bring him back into the village after all."

"And what if…" Kurenai was soft with her next words, uncertain of what the orders were for this scenario. "What if he attacks our students? Are we to just let him, or are we supposed to step in?"

"…" Kakashi sighed, reviewing all the information he'd obtained slowly. "The woman was able to use a few techniques; becoming invisible, walking through walls, and some kind of sensory ability. It's possible that Naruto would have learned the same as it appears she was his mentor in some way. As such, it might be best for you to not shadow your students. If he catches wind of you, it might endanger your students more." Raising a hand to stop them from cutting him off, he glared at them. "They are soldiers. If he attacks back, tell them to do what they need to, but regardless the objective is to bring him back _alive_. Am I understood?"

The two of them frowned at him, neither of them liking how he seemed to be ordering them around. They were soldiers, but they worked for the Hokage, not him. Still, they understood that what he wasn't the one giving the order; the Hokage was.

"Yes." They said in unison.

"Good. Gather your genin team together. I'll go do the same." Kakashi nodded to each of them. "If they discover something, have them report back to you as soon as you can. Until then…"

He shot away, leaving the two of them behind as he went to get his team. The two of them glanced to each other, Asuma sighing as he pulled out a cigarette. "I'll go get my team. It seems our outing is over isn't it?"

"Yeah." Kurenai sighed, rubbing her head. "This…this isn't going to go well."

"You're telling me." Asuma muttered, taking a long drag on his cigarette before sighing. "Alright, let's get this done. No reason to leave my dad waiting, right?"

Kurenai frowned, not liking his tone of voice. He was still so cynical about his father, and after finally returning he'd only gotten worse. He'd imagined that the time apart would help heal the wounds of their words when he became one of the Twelve Guardians, and yet because of the wounds his father had built up during the Uzumaki Incident he'd been changed. There was a darkness that had swept across Konoha after the boy had left; one that even the civilians had begun to realize shortly after.

Some thought that bringing Naruto back would help heal things, but Kurenai knew better. The damage had been done, and the scars would remain. Bringing him back would only bring pain as the boy was likely not the same as he was before. Whoever he'd become would be a stranger that would haunt them, and should he get out of hand with the power he held, he could possibly destroy them.

As she raced off to find her team, she silently prayed that wherever he'd gone, he had _not_ learned about the Kyuubi, or how to control it.

x-=-x

It was several hours before Naruto finally stepped back into the streets of Konohagakure no Sato, and it had long since become late afternoo. He moved rather twitchily, but he now felt he looked like he fit in a bit better while also having thrown off his scent.

There was a lot he'd had to do to throw them off. First, he'd hidden near multiple dumpsters before slipping into areas that were filled with people. Thanks to some tricks he'd heard about, he was able to mix his scent into a wide variety of scents; from garbage, to people, to food, and a few more things. He'd almost been caught several times, but to his relief the Force was still on his side as he was able to throw them off with a few well-placed noises that sent them away from his location.

After he'd finally lost the remainder of the people following him, he'd slipped into the backroom of a store. After checking around, he'd eventually realized that it was a clothing store. Looking down at his own, he figured that if they saw him running around in his normal cloak, he might be caught and dragged off. He figured that his master knew what she was doing, but he was still concerned. Pulling off his cloak, he thought about turning it inside out to hide it, but even that was too close. Folding it up and rolling it as tight as he could and bound it so that it wouldn't come undone. It was still a bit thicker than his arm, but it would do for now.

Looking through some of the different items back there, he found that it was filled with several boxes of things that were likely meant to be returned to the vendor. Stock that was taking up space that needed to be sent back so that they could move things around. Thankfully it hadn't gone yet, as there were a few different things to look through that he might be able to make use of.

There were a few that caught his eye, and he'd tried a few on. Some were dusty, and some he had to dig deeper into to the boxes to find one that would fit him. A few made him grimace, but then the one he finally settled on was slightly oversized yet still filled his needs. He didn't think it'd help him much with blending in, but it was different from what he'd worn before so it might not be a bit of a problem.

As he stepped out into the street, he stuck his hand into the pocket of the dusted orange jacket and ran his hand across the edge of the weapon he'd taken from the man who'd attacked him. He felt his hand grip tightly around it, and he needed to take a slow deep breath so that he didn't violently throw it as far away from himself. He needed something besides his lightsaber, as it would be rather…obvious. Yet still, this weapon caused him silent duress as he thought over what it was.

It was a dead blade. The world was so primitive that the weapons they had were still dead blade; blades that had no device in the hilt to cause it the vibration feature that allowed it to cut smoothly. The cuts could catch, could tear rather than simply cut, and could leave a wound with infection. He'd looked over such weapons and while there were some species that still used some variant of dead blade, the idea that he would have to use one now troubled him. Even a blaster was almost better in his mind than a dead blade. Almost.

Taking another deep breath, he slowly kept moving forwards. He was twitchy, completely lost, and beginning to get hungry. Now was not the time to bring up feelings of dislike and annoyance with such things. It would just lead him closer to…the dark side…

Naruto decided instead to focus on that thought. He realized from the beginning that there was something strange going on with him, feeling things in a plethora of colors the way he did. Whenever people spoke about the Force, it was back and white, and 'getting close to the darkness'. But when he looked at it, he felt so much more. Things like the boy, Gaara, his own multiple encounters, and even the people around him now, painted an image the likes of which no one had ever bothered to speak of to him. He felt such a wide variety of emotions, saw and had seen a wide variety of people who continued to interact with one another and him, and as he stepped to the side of the street to watch as the people who passed by.

Jedi did not form attachments, yet the Force had allowed him to bond with the Queen, and several others. Why did the Force do that if they weren't 'supposed' to do it? Or was the Jedi Code meant to be more like guidelines? An'ya had spoken adamantly that he needed to let go of his attachments, yet with each one he'd made he'd felt better, and stronger in his connection to the Force.

Thinking about his master, remembered something. Naruto hadn't told her, but he could feel An'ya. Not very well, and things usually seemed rather awkward, but she was there. It wasn't as strong as his bond with the Queen, so he couldn't tell where she was, but he knew she was alive.

Taking a deep breath, he immediately regretted it as a wave of smell washed over him and his stomach grumbled. Glaring down at his stomach, he shook his head. "Really? Right now is not the time."

Groaning, he turned to leave the area. Being close to the food was a bad idea, as good as the smell was. As he did so though, he collided with another person. Flinching, he dug his feet into the ground and blinked, balking slightly when he saw who he'd hit.

"Hey, watch it!"

The boy's face seemed wild to Naruto, with wild hair hidden under a hoodie, and red triangle marks on his cheeks. His eyes glared at Naruto, a feral look on his face as he puffed up his chest and tried to look more imposing. In his jacket he had a small white furred animal that yipped at him as well. On his forehead though, the thing that drew his attention, was a metal head plate with the symbol of the soldiers who had attacked them. Naruto had no idea if he had accidentally broken some unsaid custom where bumping into someone was a bad thing, and didn't want to stay around them for too long. Muttering an apology, he stepped around him, and almost stepped into another person.

"Oh!"

Naruto flinched, stumbling back as he almost ran into the girl behind him. Like the boy next to her, she also had the same metal plate, though hers was around her neck. Her eyes were light and lacked pupils; a trait he'd never seen before. Her shoulder length hair framed her face, but Naruto's eyes remained on the plate. He'd never realized just how surround he was till this moment. "Sorry."

The girl stared at him, blinking rapidly as she slowly stepped to the side with a surprisingly sweet smile. "No, it's fine. We're sorry we ran into you."

"Really Hinata?" The boy asked, looking rather put off by what she'd said. "This guy just walked into me and you're gonna apologize? He ran into me!"

"Kiba-kun," The girl, Hinata, said softly with a firm look at said boy. "It wasn't his fault. There's no need to be rude."

"But he ran into me!" Kiba growled, jabbing his finger in Naruto's face.

"Um…I said I was sorry." Naruto said, flinching when Kiba turned on him.

Kiba stared at him for a moment, eyes seeming to pay particular attention to his face before he finally groaned in defeat. "_Fine_, but I'm not apologizing for an accident."

"Kiba." A second boy said, getting Naruto to jump as he hadn't seen him. The boy was wearing dark glasses and a high collared jacket. Were he in the galaxy, Naruto was pretty sure that he would have just blended into any sort of crowd. "I understand what you're thinking, but that does not mean you can continue in such a manner."

"Um…wait, is it Kiba or Kiba-kun?" Naruto asked, blinking in confusion.

"My name is Kiba." The boy, Kiba, said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh. Then, what's the kun thing for?"

"It means she's a close friend, and that she's allowed to say that." Kiba raised a brow at Naruto. "Jeez, don't you know anything?"

"I've never been good at formalities." Naruto said with a shrug. "They always felt too tedious."

"Seriously?" Kiba said with a bark-like laugh. "Aw man, a man after my own heart." Raising a brow, he looked Naruto over again before sticking out his hand. "Tell you what, let's start over. I'm Kiba, nice to meet you."

Naruto stared at his hand for a moment before smiling slightly as he grabbed the boy's hand. "…I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you Kiba."

"My name's Hinata." Hinata said, bowing with a bright smile.

"Shino Aburame."

Looking between the three, Naruto found himself both confused and comforted. They weren't what he expected; far from trained soldiers, they seemed almost like…well, kids. It made him relax.

Then, his stomach began growling and he felt embarrassed as all three of them glanced at him curiously. "Um…eheh, sorry about that."

"Have you eaten anything?" Hinata asked curiously, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"No, I…well, I don't have any money honestly."

"How do you not have any money?" Kiba asked, looking like he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be amused or concerned for Naruto.

"Well," Naruto found himself thinking quick on his feet as he shrugged. "I came here with someone, but we got separated and…she had the money."

"Wow, that sucks." Kiba seemed to have decided on being amused. "Do you know where they went?"

"No." Naruto said softly, scratching his cheek. Falling back on actual experience, he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This happens any time we travel somewhere new. We stay together for a bit, and then she just…leaves. Or we get separated. It's kinda frustrating, and it always takes forever to get back together."

"Are you a shinobi?" Shino asked, his glasses glinting slightly as he stared at Naruto.

Ninja. "What's a shinobi?"

There was a small moment of silence as the three of them looking at him with a shocked look. It was eventually Kiba once more who broke the silence. "You can't be serious."

Naruto gave him a deadpanned look. "I can. What. Is. A. Shinobi?"

Throwing his hand over Naruto's shoulder, Kiba pointed his finger at him with a slightly narrowed eye. "Alright civilian, listen up. We're gonna get some food in you, and then we're going to explain what a shinobi is. Got it?"

"Um, uh –"

"Good! Now, here we go!"

Naruto had no option as Kiba dragged him towards one of the stands in the distance, his friends following behind him. All the while, Naruto couldn't help but wonder. _"What in the world did I get myself into?"_

x-=-x

Hinata couldn't stop glancing to the boy that they'd found as they ate. Kiba was rambling, and going on about what the shinobi were, and how they worked. The boy, Naruto, seemed so bright eyed and innocent, listening with rapt attention as he ate his food. Apparently, despite his travels, he'd never used chopsticks and had fumbled with them. While he'd tried to be subtle about it, looking between them to try and figure it out, she'd eventually reached over and had to help him.

She didn't know why, but…she was reminded of someone when she saw him. His fairly short though still rather spikey blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, his bright smile, and even the whisker marks on his cheeks all seemed to scream at her that he was someone she knew. And yet, she couldn't believe it.

Naruto. The name couldn't be forgotten. She knew it couldn't; she'd written it down a thousand times to ensure the she didn't forget it. Biting her lip, she tried as hard as she could to recall where she knew him from.

"…so, what do you think?"

"So you're mercenaries?"

"No, we're shinobi."

"Just because you can do flashy super things doesn't make you any less a mercenary."

Hinata blinked, looking up to Naruto and Kiba. Kiba seemed to be struggling to get it through to Naruto that they weren't mercenaries, despite the fact that Naruto _was_ at least somewhat right. Shinobi were essentially selling themselves to the highest bidder as their primary source of income. Their skills were capable of doing far more versatile and varied; from assassinations to dog walking.

Kiba groaned, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, call us what you want, but at the end of the day we're shinobi, and at the very least you need to remember that we have far more honor than any mercenary might."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not saying you're not, it's just weird that you're trying to put yourselves under a different name."

"Its meaning is why it is different." Shino interjected, getting Naruto to turn his attention towards him. "When you say mercenary, you get a particular image in your mind of someone whose intentions usually end up being in the negative as their actions reflect it."

"So what does that make shinobi then?" Naruto crossed his arms, looking to them all skeptically. "You just said it paints them in a particular light, but what you're not saying is that if you do everything that they do and more do, then what does that make you?"

Shino seemed to think about this for a moment. He seemed to be rather enjoying the conversation, and the wordplay was a breath of fresh air. "That we're all different, and that there are many things that we can do, rather than simply murder and be savages."

"Um," Hinata said softly, thinking up a good analogy for what Shino meant. "Think of it like looking at a picture. There are many colors on it that mix and match to make a beautiful painting that can say even more things. What the colors are and what they mean depend on the people who drew it."

Naruto stayed silent at that, and she saw his face shift. It was a look of surprised recognition, as though he'd had similar thoughts, but had left them unsaid. Maybe he'd been thinking the same thing but thought that it sounded silly? She herself felt it was a bit silly upon thinking about it. Colors? How was that be even remotely like people?

"That makes a lot of sense." Or maybe it did. "I mean, I've felt colors before and it's been really weird."

"Felt colors?" Shino's head tilted only slightly. Hinata's eyes shifted to him, the slight movement gave her barely enough information to let her know he was both curious and perturbed by what he'd said.

"Um…" Naruto suddenly looked rather embarrassed as he laughed nervously. "Well, you see…it's something I've learned during my travels. I just reach out and feel the world around me, letting it connect with me, and me to it. Sometimes, I feel the world around me in colors. I don't know how else to describe it honestly. It just…is."

He was hiding something. There were shifts in his eyes, little twitches in his movements that allowed her to 'read his mind'. Something in his past, something painful, something he didn't understand. Such strange emotions to be having from what seemed to have come from a simple thought. What was hiding in this strange boy?

Seeing his face like this, embarrassed and lost, she found her eyes widening slightly. How could she have forgotten him? She'd written his name so she'd never forget, and sketched what she could recall. A boy, from a long time ago, who'd smiled that same smile. Though when she recalled it, it was injured and smaller, and it felt like it was so very long ago now.

She'd been so small, so young, and had been an easy target outside the walls of her family's compound. There'd been a few boys who'd chosen to pick on her, make her bow and grovel in the dirt. She'd been humiliated, felt so powerless, and then _he'd_ shown up. After it was all over, he'd looked even smaller than she did in front of them, but in those few moments where he'd stood before them he'd seemed a giant. No amount of bruises or cuts were able to make him shine any less brightly.

Naruto. Naruto _Uzumaki_. The boy who was lost. The boy who'd given her the chance to stand on her own two feet.

It took a great deal of self-control to keep from blurting it out and saying anything. He was here. He was right _here_ and talking to her as though nothing was wrong. If he'd never left would this be how it was? No, probably not. If he'd been around she'd likely have felt more self-conscious, and uncertain. His kidnapping had forced her to tighten her lip and began training extensively to one day find and bring Naruto back. But he was here.

So what did that mean?

She felt so lost now. Everything she'd done, everything she'd tried so hard to train for, felt lost in this moment. But what if she was wrong? What if he wasn't the boy she remembered, and she was simply deluding herself?

No, no she'd wait. Wait until she could find some time, some way to talk to him alone. Maybe then she'd be able to get the truth, and she could possibly sort herself out.

"That sounds really weird to me." Kiba muttered, rolling his eyes at Naruto's comment about 'feeling colors'. "Seriously, how do you even know what a color feels like?"

"Um, it's…instinctive?" Naruto seemed uncertain, hesitant to voice his thoughts.

Anxious, worried, untrusting. Hinata didn't like how many emotions raced across his face when he said that. "Well, it sounds like it makes sense." Kiba gave her a confused look, so she continued. "Well, it's not like we've seen things so different. Chakra has many uses, and many different ways we can form it, so what's to say that there aren't many different colors too?"

"Yeah but…well, it seems weird, that's all I'm saying."

"As weird as you saying that that this…dog, is your fighting companion." Naruto said in reply.

Kiba huffed proudly, patting the little white furred dog as it peeked its head up. "Hey, Akamaru is a strong fighting ninken, and he's going to be one of the greatest ninken ever!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. There was a happy look on his face, eyes rising up as he remembered something happy. She wondered what it was that could bring such a fond smile to his face. The way he leaned back in his chair as though he were visualizing something that was quite large. "Yeah well, I'm sure he'll do just fine."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, just a close friend that I made during my travels."

"Naruto-san, you continue to speak of your travels in such a vague manner. Where exactly have you travel to?" Shino asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh places like Naboo, Alaris Prime, Nar Shad –" Naruto flinched, suddenly looking pale. "…places that are very, _very_ far away from here."

Shino didn't move, but she felt him gently tap her leg. It was a silent question as to his truthfulness, seeing how Naruto had seemed a bit off to all three of them. Sighing, she slowly nodded. He was truthful. It was strange as none of them had ever heard of any of the places he'd mentioned, but he'd been truthful.

Before they could ask or say any more, there was a sound from behind them. Hinata and her team turned around, somewhat surprised as their sensei walked into the room. "Kurenai-sensei."

"Team, I'd like to speak with you about…"

They'd all be blind to miss her eyes drift as she spoke. All of their eyes glanced to where she was looking, and found them resting on Naruto. While Kiba and Shino's eyes remained there, Hinata's was able to catch a bit more than them due to her position. As such she saw the shift on her teachers face, the brief flash of recognition. The shift from recognition to worry, with maybe a dash of fear mixed in.

Snapping her eyes to where Naruto was, she was also able to see the final flash of Naruto's face. His pupils shrinking to almost invisible dots in his eyes, his entire body tightening up as he took a sharp breath. He gripped the edge of the table they were at, and she could hear his chair moving back.

"Oh poodoo."

Before she or her teammates could move, Naruto suddenly bolted. The speed that he moved was startling as they'd thought him little more than a civilian, so seeing him almost blurred out of the building into the streets.

Kurenai stepped out, as though to follow, but stopped with clenched fists. "Damn it…"

"What is it sensei?" Kiba asked, eyes darting between Kurenai and Naruto. His body was coiled up, ready to leap after him given the chance.

"I made a mistake." Kurenai said, biting her lip. "I didn't expect you to have already found him."

"Found who sensei?" Shino asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"…Naruto Uzumaki."

Kiba and Shino seemed confused and lost by her declaration, but Hinata's head snapped over to her. "So it _was_ him? What happened? Why – why did he run like that?"

"Because he broke into the village with his master, and as far as we can tell he's some form of spy."

"A spy?!" Kiba growled. "And to think I was getting all friendly with him. Ugh, I feel so stupid now!"

Kurenai shook her head, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault Kiba. If anything, you were doing exactly what we needed you to do."

"What?"

"We need him to be brought to the Hokage…peacefully. If you were able to befriend him, then maybe you can convince him to come with you. But...be careful. He may think that you know, but if you run after him you might be able to help lead him to the Tower. Just…be careful. And do _try_ to bring him back peacefully if at all possible."

"…yes sensei." The three of them said after a moment.

"Good." She said. Staring at them all, she frowned. "Well then, don't just stand here, go!"

All three of them jumped, but quickly got to their feet and launched themselves out to follow Naruto. Kurenai sighed, shaking her head as she watched them leave.

"Be safe…just, be safe."

* * *

><p>AN: And now we're getting into the throw down sections. <em>Finally<em>. It takes a bit, but building up the world is most definitely something that annoys me as much as you, but if I don't then people will point out all the weird things. Besides, how many stories have you read (Star Wars stories) that dive _straight_ into the action without some world building or other such exposition?

Le sigh. Anyways, time for some Q&A:

**MEleeSmasher**: *chuckles* Actually Pyrokinesis is an actual Force ability. Not a widely used one, and mostly used for things like parting an explosion around people or the like, but it's there. As for if he'll use powers not seen in the trilogy…he's using clones. Don't worry, there will be more.

**Iskandar06**: Um…uh…what? I always thought they were around 12 when they graduated, what do you mean?

**astral trinity**: I wouldn't know, I haven't seen him use it yet. Then again, he probably would. Force Choke just makes people look kinda powerful.

**cj1of4**: Excellent! You are thinking on the right track now!

**Vizard890**: *THE LAUGHTER FILLED WITH THE BURNING SPIRIT OF YOUTH APPROVES* …or in sane terms, most likely.

**Konerok Hadorak**: Okay, the reason why Kakashi didn't compel her during their fight is somewhat similar to the Kirigakure no Jutsu; she was bending light around her form, and as such he couldn't see her fully. He thought she was doing this because she knew about the Sharingan, rather than simply trying to flee.

As for the interrogation, I said that in the last chapter. If Kakashi was in there, he'd be too angry since he now knows she 'stole' Naruto. It also would "ruin Konoha's reputation" if they didn't try tame methods first. Kakashi also messed up his chance to do more as he'd had to call in the medics, who might be more easily coerced to speak rather than simply watch. The Hokage may have his authority, but lips can still let thing slip.

**mundanebeast**: An excellent question! However, that'll come soon. Don't worry, Danzo's still around…but when you see him, you might be surprised.


End file.
